Dark Moon
by Rose3521
Summary: Twenty-six year old Darcy has been on the run from a vampire for the past 6 years with her younger brother Briar and her daughter Lakiya.
1. Chapter 1

Dark Moon

Hey everyone, this is my first fanfic, so hopefully you like. Please review and let me know what you think. Thanks! and enjoy.

* * *

She was knew the moment the creature became aware of her presence. While he'd been unable to take her blood, she'd had the presence of mind to take his all those many years ago, back when this whole mad game of hide-and seek had started. That was the way she'd been able to avoid him for so long, she always knew when he was coming, always knew when it was time to skip town…and she was sick of it.

"Darcy?" Briar looked at her sidelong from where he sat in the passenger seat beside her. He recognized that look, it was the same one she wore when bargaining for the best price at the market, or scolding him for letting his grades slip. It was the "I'm pissed and you best get out of my way" look.

"It's coming, again isn't it?" He felt the same old mixture of fear and anger. Fear because what followed them was a living nightmare. It held not only a twisted depraved mind, but a cold emotionless heart, and it would stop at nothing to possess what it wanted. Anger because at the age of 18 he had been settled into this town for three years now-- the longest time they'd been able to keep hidden-- and had finally began to feel like a normal person again. He'd been ripped away from the people and places he loved countless times because of this creature and he was tired of it. He was tired of running, of having to lie to everyone about his past, tired of losing friends. By the look on Darcy's face, she was as well.

"Briar, this is the end, one way or another." She glanced over at him, pinning him with her green eyes. He felt his fear give way to the anger, her gaze gave him strength to say the words he'd been longing voice ever since he'd come into the inherent abilities of their family.

"I want to fight it Darcy. I deserve to, it's ruined my life and I deserve a chance at paying some of that back!" The teen declared angrily, his voice rising, his teeth snapping.

"Shhh, don't wake Laki!" Darcy reprimanded sharply, glancing in the rear view mirror at the sleeping toddler in the car seat behind her. But her daughter hadn't stirred in the least, her head drooped onto her chest, Laki was the definition of adorable, with her blond curly ringlets, so much like her mothers.

Darcy's hands were steady on the wheel as she slowly pulled over to the side of the road. Turning off the car she peered out the window. She could see the sky darkening, thunderheads building ominously to the north, the weather center had been predicting big storms for three days now, and it looked like they were finally right. Turning on her hazard lights she unbuckled the seatbelt and turned back to her brother.

"Briar, first of all no one can ruin your life unless you give them the ability to do so. I know it gets repetitive but we have to play the cards that life has dealt us. The past five years have sucked, sucked major, but it comes to an end tonight, I promise you. I've been waiting for this day a long time now, 6 years in fact, and while I wasn't strong enough to end it back then, I am now." Lightening flashed overhead, caused her eyes to look an eerie neon green.

"Let me come with you Darcy, you can't do this alone. Let me help, I want to fight." Briar was careful to keep his voice down this time, but his words still carried all of the fury that his early statement had.

"Out of the question. Laki needs you; you're her uncle and what would happen to her if both of us were to die?" She spoke the word neither of them liked to use, not since their parents deaths six years past. She paused to consider her next words, how could she reassure him of the fact that she was powerful enough to win this one on her own? That she couldn't involve him any more then he already had been.

"They underestimate us Briar, our race; don't tell me you've forgotten the stories as they have. They believe themselves to be the only ancients left, they forget about all of the rest of us." She paused to reconsider before continuing, "Oh they recall the jaguars to an extent, but they've never counted them as much of a threat, not in the way they once did us." Darcy's voice seemed deeper almost, more animalistic. Shaking her head as if in pity for those who had forgotten, she held out her arms to her brother, her best friend. Their hug was brief, as she could feel the creature was getting closer, and she wanted the two people she loved most in the world out of danger as fast as possible.

"Go back to the farmhouse, lock all of the doors and use those protective spells I showed you. Don't forget to read Laki a story before bed, there's a casserole in the fridge for you to eat." The menial instructions given she gave a sigh before continuing, "Briar, I love you, I'm sorry the past years have been hell, I know it's been hard moving around so much, and I take the blame solely upon my shoulders. But we can't change the past so we must fight for our future. If I'm not back by tomorrow, I want you to stay at Mrs. Addams tomorrow night. He may leave you alone if I'm gone, but then again, he may be after Laki, so here is my purse with my credit cards, I have cash hidden under the floorboard in my closet. Take it and run, run fast and run far, get an ocean between you and if at all possible try to find some of our kind." Her eyes were steady; no trace of tear, Briar on the other hand could feel the tears welling up, Darcy was his only family left, beside Laki, he didn't know what he'd do without her, how he could ever even attempt to be as strong. Hugging once more Darcy turned around to look at her daughter.

"Laki." She whispered, not wanting to wake her daughter, the brightest part of her life, besides Briar.

"I will always love you. Know that everything I've done I did in order to give you the best life you could have. Listen to your uncle, and be good."

Darcy opened the door of the car, leaving it open so that Briar coming around the other side could get in. She turned her face up to the sky, the first patter of raindrops cooling her skin, thunder rumbled.

"Don't worry Briar, I'll see you tonight. Don't burn that casserole, I'm going to want some when I get back." A wry smile spread over her face, and with that she bounded into the forest that lined both sides of the road.

Their kind may have forgotten hers, but that made no difference. They were about to remember, remember the fear that had once caused their shriveled hearts to beat faster, remember that they were not the only predators left in the world, they were about to remember the loup-garou.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey thanks to njferrell for the review! Although I must say more reviews would be nice, I never realized how nice they are to get! I did a bit of a happy dance when I saw I had one so once again thank you! Also I'm using characters that while not main characters per say, do have some big parts in other books, so I will try to stay true to them, but if you guys have any complaints please let me know. Also I made up the town so hopefully it's not a real town, if it is I apologize. Well, that's about it, so enjoy.

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Darcy moved swiftly and silently through the forest. She had long since abandoned her shoes, not without an unreasonable pang of guilt at the loss of one of her cutest pairs of flats. Her bare feet unerringly stepped around jagged stones and sharp sticks that lined the little used deer path she now ran on.

Her breathing was steady even though the pace she was now setting would make even the best of marathon runners green with envy. She was close now, close to the spot she had chosen for this battle, for her final stand.

Jumping gracefully over a fallen log in her path she took a sharp right onto what barely constituted as a path. Darcy could see the clearing now, a place of solitude she sometimes came to on her midnight runs. It was but three miles from the little town of Horizon, Maine, where she, Briar and Laki had been living in relative peace for the past three years.

Lightning flashed overhead illuminating the intense green of the leaves all around her, she couldn't help but appreciate their beauty. Putting on a burst of speed she raced into the large clearing just in time for the clouds above to rip open.

The rain came down in a torrent, lightening ripped through the heavens, thunder following suit. He was just about here, the father of her child, the nightmare that had chased her for so long, half-mage and half-Carpathian, Razvan.

* * *

Dominic knew that the line of storms he was flying through were not of natural causes, a vampire was near, and as the only hunter nearby it was his duty to dispatch of it. In the form of an owl, he winged his way through the turbulent sky, lightning flashed by him, close enough to scorch his feathers. He felt no fear at this, he didn't feel anything anymore. He hadn't for centuries. The only thing that kept him from meeting the dawn was his mission. To find all those lost heirs of the Dragonseeker clan, those children his great-nephew Razvan, had so carelessly produced and abandoned, only to return in order to steal their blood, to use their lives as fuel for his own sick existence.

The very idea of it sickened Dominic. Or it would, he was sure, if he could feel such a thing. If anything it went against his strictly held code of honor, the code of honor each Carpathian male held, protect and hold what was yours, your children, your mate. If Dominic would ever be so lucky as to have either he would never let them go, he would do anything in his power to protect them, and ensure their happiness. He wouldn't, as his nephew had, so carelessly toss them off like trash. But then that, he supposed was the difference between them, Razvan had succumbed to the beast within, the very beast that Dominic fought with upon every rising. Dominic was close to the creature now, close on his heels, he reached out with his mind to test its power.

The shock almost caused him to plummet to the earth. It couldn't be. Why was he so far from their homeland? How and why was this particular creature, his great-nephew here in America? The last he had heard of Razvan had been around the mortal holiday of Christmas, when he had staged an attack on the lifemate to Jacques. Could he be here after another lost child? Dominic intended to find out, and to rid the world of the abomination.

Deep within the owl's body the beast struggled to escape, to rend and tear, to hunt down the fowl best in front of him, Razvan.

* * *

With as much care as possible, Darcy took off her now soaked and dirty blouse off leaving her in just her dress slacks and a white tank top. Folding it neatly she set it beneath the relative protection that a large oak on the edge of the clearing provided. She had already lost her shoes, but at least she could try and dry-clean the blouse, next she turned her attention to her dangle earrings, as luck would have it she hadn't lost either one, for this she was grateful. She carefully put them inside the breast pocket of her now brownish blouse. First rule of fighting, always take off your earrings.

While Darcy wasn't the epitome of fashion, (in fact she preferred jeans and a t-shirt to just about anything else), what nice outfits she could afford she took perfect care of, and only wore on special occasions.

"Of all days to have to have to meet with the owner!" She moaned, had this of been any other day of the week, she would be in jeans and a t-shirt, nothing glamorous but suitable for her job as a cook. It was just her luck that the vampire would choose this day to catch on to her whereabouts. Now just look at her shirt, it would take her weeks to be able to save up enough for another!

Intellectually she knew that she was just trying to keep her mind off the imminent arrival of her foe, but….this was her second best outfit! _Darcy you are being ridiculous_ she reminded herself, _there's nothing you can do about them now so focus on the fight ahead._

Once again lighting cracked overhead, and in the time it took for the bolt to illuminate the sky, Razvan appeared.

At first glance he appeared to be a handsome man, the kind of man you hoped would ask you out, but Darcy knew better. While he did not have the sharp teeth and blood spattered clothing hidden beneath an illusion of beauty, she could still sense the wrongness within him.

Her eyes blazed an eerie green as they locked with his ever-changing eyes of mid-night blue.

"Shall we get this over with?" She cracked her neck once, shaking out her muscles. His face showed surprise, she supposed he'd never been openly challenged before, at least not by one he considered her prey.

"You have no hope at defeating me Darcy." His voice was purity itself, she could feel a buzzing fill her ears as his words tried to fill her with self-doubt, with defeat. But she was ready for this, as she had not been last time.

"That may be, but then I've always felt that even in hopelessness one should try to persevere." She had finished shaking out her muscles, and turned her attention inwards as she called her beast upward. Her fingers curled, she felt her claws slowly unsheathe, her teeth ached to grow, but she held it down for a little longer.

"Plus, who knows? Maybe it's my lucky day." Lighting flashed, she struck. Razvan had little time to block, her movements were a blur. He had come this night with no doubt in his mind that he would win, that once he won he would take the child they had bore, but the way her eyes flashed, and way she moved couldn't help but remind him of his sister, and in the tiniest corner of his mind, Razvan felt doubt begin to worm it's way into his mind.


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys! I'm glad you guys like it so far, thanks to Tigereyes9 for letting me know about the whole enabling anonymous reviews thing. I'm a noob haha, so I appreciate the help. Also thanks to njferrell, and spiritsstar, for reviewing, I'm glad you guys like it. With no further ado here's the next chapter. Enjoy, and let me know what you think.

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Darcy's whole body was in pain, she knew had broken at least one rib, not to mention the fact that her whole right leg was virtually useless. Blood from a long gash in her forehead mixed with the rain, running into her eyes and obscuring her vision.

The only thing that kept her going was the knowledge that she was the only defense standing between Razvan and her family. It also didn't hurt to know that for every wound she had sustained she had dished it right back out. As she had predicted to Briar the vampire had underestimated her giving her the upper hand initially, that and she had a feeling that he hadn't wanted to do her any permanent damage…at first. Across the clearing she could see her opponent, he was relying more on more on his control of the elements, and less on actual hand-to-hand combat to fight her. But then, he didn't seem to be the type to get his hands dirty when he could just as easily send one of his minions, or use his powers to do the job.

Breathing heavily, she felt the electric charge and heat in the air around her build, jerking her right leg painfully she leaped out of the way just as the lightning bolt came crashing from the heavens to strike right where she had been standing an instant before. Tears welled up in her eyes at the agonizing pain in her leg as she zipped and zagged her way across the clearing dodging the lightning bolts as they rained down from the heavens.

"You're losing your touch Raz-man" She couldn't help but make fun of his name, he was already angry, angry at the huge, deep, cut she had scored across his chest, at the broken arm, smashed ribs, and blind eye that had come from this battle with her. But most of all he was angry at the fact that retrieving the child was proving to be difficult. It was holding up his plans, and if there was one thing Razvan hated most upon this earth it was when carefully laid plans were held up.

Darcy could feel his anger, it was a potent force in the clearing but neither that nor her useless leg slowed her down. She used his anger, the recklessness that came with it, catching him off guard with her frontal assault she sped up, a blurred strike and then ten feet away from her quarry, she slowed down.

This time the blast of lightning caught her back. She had been expecting it, pain that blossomed through her, the smell of burning flesh. But it was the force of the blast that'd she'd expected the most, that'd she'd been counting on.

For a moment in time she was speeding in the air, the force propelled her forward, head first, claws out right at Razvan. She watched as surprise registered on his face, as he raised his arms to block her. But it was too late, her claws extended they caught his jugular, and as he hit her flying body with his arms, she snagged her claws deep within his flesh neatly ripping his throat from one side to the other.

The force of his blow sent her flying towards the forest. She tried to turn her body as she flew, to land on her feet, but she wasn't a cat and instead she crashed to the ground, everything seemed to go fuzzy, and then it went black.

* * *

Through the storm Dominic tracked his prey; he was close, right above Razvan. Swooping down he scanned the deep forest below. Within the owl's body the beast struggled against its bonds as his finally locked on to Razvan.

From above he watched the scene play out, he watched as the small women streaked across the clearing, weaving easily through the lightning bolts striking down at her. Everything seemed to go still for a moment as he watched her. He no longer heard the storm around him, no longer felt the rain beating down upon his feathered back. In that moment of stillness he watched as one final lightning bolt tumbled from the sky, and found its target. The small women went flying.

The roar was pulled from the deepest part of his soul. He couldn't lose her, he couldn't lose his lifemate, not when he'd just found her, not when he'd been searching centuries upon centuries for a reason to continue his existence. Anger pounded through his veins, hatred filled his mind, and for the first time in his existence he let the beast have free rein.

* * *

Darcy must have only blacked out for a few seconds because when she came to, the world was just as she had left it, the sky was still a sickly green, the rain still fell heavily, lighting and thunder still ruled the sky. _You have to get up!_ She told herself. But it was useless, she just wanted to sleep for a thousand years, she wanted to sleep until the pain left.

But the little voice persisted, _Where's Razvan?_ _That's a good question. _Mustering all of her strength she flipped her self over until she was facing the place where he had stood. It took her eyes a while to refocus, as the excruciating pain through-out her body had left her head swimming. But when she did manage to refocus, it was only to discover that Razvan --head lolling unnaturally to the side-- was looming right above her.

He no longer looked the nice man who had dated and wooed her, nor the cool, suave man she had met in the forest this evening. No. Now he looked what he was, a cruel, evil creature, one that would stop at nothing to get what he wanted.

"While that was quite entertaining, my dear, I fear that I tire of these games. Any last words, before I kill you?" Spittle and blood dripped from his oddly tipped head, as he spoke, blood ran down his entire body from the ghastly wound. Darcy thought for about a second before responding.

"Oh God…Did you honestly just use that cliché? That was pretty bad, Raz-man, even for you. The only thing we're missing to make this a truly B movie is a swashbuckling hero with bad hair charging in to save me" At this point she had to break off as coughing racked her body. If she was going to go out, she refused to pump up his ego by pleading for mercy. She didn't expect any, nor did she want any from the likes of her, she would die as she lived, full of humor and without remorse. She watched his face twist with anger, his normal beauty a mask of hate as he took in what she said. This was it. She squeezed her eyes shut in expectancy of the killing blow, feeling tears well up. She'd always thought your life was supposed to flash before your eyes before you died, but it was Laki and Briar's faces that filled hers, Laki's first steps, Briar's first day at high school. All of her most precious memories and in that instant she knew she'd give anything to watch her baby grow up, to watch Briar graduate and go out into the world.

"You always were too much of a smart-ass for your own good." Razvan's voice was no longer pure and melodious, but rough and gravelly. With that he jerked her up by her neck and baring his fangs he lunged for the killing blow. A blow that never came.


	4. Chapter 4

Hey everyone! I'm happy to be getting the reviews, they really help to motivate. Maybe now I'll even start writing more of them myself. Alright finally they met, once again if I've tried my best to stick to how Dominic was portrayed in the books, but since he's in so few, with even fewer lines, i haven't had much to go on. So hopefully he seems accurate. haha Thank you to all who reviewed sarcasmbecomesyou, spiritstar, and Tigereyes9. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

She was floating, that much she was sure of. _This can't be right; I'm a werewolf, not a were-bird! _For some reason she found the whole idea of this extremely funny, although it might have been due to the vast quantity of blood she was even now losing through her various injuries. She started to giggle uncontrollably. At least after this she could say that she'd laughed in the face of death, or rather giggled. This only increased her giggles in to full-fledged hysterical laughter, even as her worn body protested.

"Ainaak enyem, you must hold on. I have searched for you too long to let you go now."

The man's voice was one of the most beautiful things she'd ever heard, and sobered her instantly. _How could I have ever thought Razvan's voice to be even remotely close to pure? Compared to the melodious voice above her, Razvan's was reduced to that of an angry cat. _ She felt herself being lifted in strong arms, instinctively she struggled, a low growl erupting form her throat. But the arms retained their hold, and slowly she ceased her struggles. She felt dizzy, and weak, she'd never felt this weak before in her live, not even after giving birth. _I have to heal myself. _ Somewhere in the back of her mind where sanity still reign she knew that she didn't have much time left to live if she didn't heal her wounds.

Darcy struggled to open her heavy eyes; the rain still beat down heavily, only increasing her already blurred vision. She couldn't seem to focus; all she was getting was the blurred image of strong shoulders and the underside of a jaw. It suddenly occurred to her that she was being carried in some strange mans arms. _What is going on? Where is Razvan?_

"He has gone, he was too much of a coward to continue his battle with me, and while I was distracted he made his escape." The man's voice almost seemed to becoming from inside her head, a fact she chose to ignore at the moment along with the ease at which he was able to read her mind.

Razvan may have escaped this time but she would defeat him. She felt anger well up, distracting her from the pain. She wouldn't allow anyone to threaten her family anymore. As soon as she was well again… but already the anger was draining, the brief reprieve from the pain was becoming merely a memory as she once again found herself racked with the pain from her beaten body. She could feel herself starting to drift back towards unconsciousness, she just wanted to rest, just a short rest before she had to return to her busy and demanding life. Her heavy eyes dropped downwards once again as she started to float away.

"Do not leave me honey, you must stay awake until I can heal you, we're almost there."

Darcy was getting annoyed, first, no one called her honey, and third…or was she on two? Well, thirdly if she wanted to sleep that was none of his damn business! Secondly…wait hadn't she already done number two? She was losing track…all she knew was this bossy male was being, well, bossy. No one bossed around the alpha female, no one. She would put him in his place…just as soon as she slept.

She felt the growl come from deep within her soul, _Darcy…_Darcy heard the voice come from within her, not that of the man, but that of her other self, her wolf. _Darcy, you must heal yourself, what will become of Briar, of your pup if you do not come back to them? _Her guardian was right, she may wish to sleep, but she had other responsibilities. She had to heal herself, and fast, before she lost the strength to do so.

"Put me down." Her voice was cracked and rough, her throat hurt. She tried to clear her vision but it did no good as the man looked down at her. Even without her vision something told her that he wasn't going to put her down…voluntarily. Covering one hand with the other in her lap to hide what she was doing, she slowly grew out her claws; the normally easy action was draining. Waiting until she was sure (well relatively certain) that he was no longer looking at her, she struck. She quickly raked her claws across his chest, not enough to do any permanent damage, just enough to draw a little blood and to distract him. She felt a wave of guilt and sorrow crash over her a she ripped through his skin, but she ignored it, and using his momentary surprise to her advantage she flipped herself out of his arms and onto the ground. Pain ripped through her as she landed stomach first on the forest floor. She pushed it aside, she had to concentrate, and she couldn't afford to be distracted. She would be using all of her remaining strength but if she knew that she wouldn't survive much longer if she didn't.

Turning her focus inwards she called to her guardian to heal her, called to her wolf, and let the transformation overtake her.

* * *

The pain Dominic felt across his stomach was inconsequential to the panic that swept through him as he watched his lifemate jack-knife to the ground. He felt her pain as she landed and anger quickly replaced his panic. How dare she put herself at such risk, she was too gravely injured to be treating herself so. He needed to get her to a safe place; he'd sensed a cave nearby where he could heal her grievous injuries. He dare not stay here in the forest where Razvan could easily send one of his minions to finish the job he'd already started. Dominic needed to be completely focused, he couldn't be constantly scanning for danger as he healed her.

Thunder crashed overhead. Dominic reached down to pick up his lifemate but stopped abruptly as she started to thrash. What was happening to her? Had Razvan poisoned her? Dominic felt fear, raw terror over take him for the first time in his long existence as he watched his lifemate's erratic movements.

Had he blinked he would have missed it. One moment she was lying on the forest floor, the next a wolf lay in her place. How had he missed that? She was healing herself, even as he watched the deep gash on her forehead was knitting itself together, her right leg seemed to be re-growing, the smashed bones reconnecting.

Dominic had never seen anything like it. He had though her to be a normal human, albeit a strong and foolish one to take on a vampire such Razvan. He never suspected that his lifemate could be, was a lycan.

* * *

Even though her wounds were healed, Darcy knew she needed to rest. She had lost a lot of blood and while her body was already producing massive amounts of blood to replace that which she'd already lost, she was still very woozy. In her wolf form she slowly stood up, shaking her body to get rid of all the needles and dirt that fallen on her white coat. Moving her body around to check for any unhealed injuries she turned to face her "rescuer."

The first thing she noticed was his massive height. He looked to be around 6'4 and in her current wolfy state that seemed pretty tall, hell in her human form of 5'5 that was tall. His hair was long, longer then hers anyway, and was the darkest of blacks. But it was his eyes that drew her attention the most, they were green like hers, but so intense they took her breath away. All in all, he was probably the one of the hottest men she'd ever seen, well besides the whole long hair thing. She hated men with long hair. But his good looks meant nothing, in Darcy's life she'd learned that what humans--or in this case Carpathians, and he was a Carpathian, she could smell it-- looked liked counted nothing towards what type of person they were. But then again she supposed she could at least admire for the moment how broad his shoulders were, how much he looked liked a Greek God, after all this would be the end of their acquaintance. Unreasonable she felt a sharp pang of what felt like loss at this thought, but she pushed it aside.

She needed to go home, make sure Briar had done his homework, call work to take the day off tomorrow, and a million other things. Just because she had to watch out for vampires and fight them every once in awhile didn't mean she could put her life on hold. She'd give the hunter her thanks, and then kindly be on her way home.

* * *

The wolf in front of him was large, and beautiful. She had the most beautiful coat of pure white fur, and her eyes were a slashing green, like his. He hadn't taken the time to look her over earlier, he'd been too focused on getting her to safety, but if her wolf form was anything to judge by she would be stunning.

Her mind was heavily guarded, but Dominic was able to pick up on some of her thoughts as she looked him over. He'd never really even considered his hair length before, he supposed that it was long compared to what was considered fashionable but it was Carpathian tradition. He'd think on that more later but for now he had other things to deal with. For one his lifemate was set on leaving him, if she thought that she was getting away from him that easily she had another thing coming. She may have been able to heal herself without his help but he could sense the weariness in her body. The transformation and subsequent healing had taken a large toll on her and he planned on using this to advantage. He would not let her go, he would never let her go. He was a Dragonseeker, and one of the oldest, lycan or not she was his.


	5. Chapter 5

Hey everyone! sorry it took a while for me to post, I assure you I plan on seeing this story to the end I just got really busy this week. Thanks for your continued reviews! Hope you like it, I added a little info on why the main character's name is Darcy. Just like her mother does, I love the book Pride and Prejudice! With that I enjoy and keep reviewing. Thanks!

* * *

"Razvan is not done yet, and you are too weak to be alone in the woods. You will never last if he chooses to send one of his servants after you." Darcy bristled at the hunter's words, even as she melted at the sound of his voice. She was an alpha, she protected others, looked after her pack, who was he to say what she could and couldn't do. _The hunter is right. _Darcy sighed, and counted to ten. Both the hunter and her guardian were correct of course. Razvan may have gone to ground but while the injuries she had given him would surely scar he was not finished with her, and she was far too weak to last against another attack tonight.

Dominic watched as the wolf in front of him pondered it over, before finally nodding her head in response, _Yes, I suppose you are right. _Her voice said within his mind. Dominic was surprised, they hadn't yet exchanged blood but she had easily communicated mind to mind with him. A rumble of thunder overhead broke his reverie and reminded him that he and her lifemate were not yet safe. With the speed of his kind he quickly scooped up the wolf in his arms and with no further ado shot up into the sky.

_What are you doing?! Put me down!_ Dominic savored hearing her voice in his mind, the fact that it shook with rage he choose to ignore for the moment. The wolf started to squirm and thrash in his arms.

_Lifemate, I would rather not drop you this far above the ground. Rest assured I would catch you, but I feel that that would not be a good start to our relationship._ Darcy felt the man's voice soft and smooth within her head, she could hear the smile in his voice. It was not his comment, nor the ease with which he spoke in her mind that stilled her movements. It was the word he'd used to address her. Lifemate.

_Oh no…no way. I know about you Carpathian's and your weird binding rituals; I refuse to become tied to anyone of your race. I've seen what you become, and I already have enough on my plate without adding you to the equation. _

The rain was icy this far up, but Dominic made sure to protect his lifemate from the cold. He would not want her to get sick. Slowly he thought over what she had said, replaying the words in his head. How did she know what it was he spoke of? He would have to find out where she had learned of his people and their ways later, for now he thought more on what she had said. He was not so concerned with her refusal, he would find a way to win her, and if worse came to worse he would simply convert her.

_You could try, but I assure you to do anything of the kind would be detrimental to your health._ Her threat was a growl within his mind, belaying what she was. How was it possible that she had picked up on that thought? She was more powerful then he had first assumed, it had been long since he had heard, nevertheless seen a lycan, he would have to tread carefully at first. Test her strengths and weakness, and find out more about this elusive race if he was going to take control of his lifemate. His lifemate. He relished the feel of her soft fur in his arms, he had finally found her. He couldn't believe it. Unconsciously his hold tightened around her, he would never let her go. He would learn everything about her, as she would him. Already he could feel the effects of her upon him. He reveled in the feeling of flight, in the beauty all around him as the storm roared all around. _What is your name little wolf?_ It would have to be something, beautiful, graceful, and feminine, that he was sure of. She paused for a while before answering,

_Not that it's any of your business, but it's Darcy. Yes as in the Pride and Prejudice character. My mom had a thing for Jane Austen. _Darcy choose to ignore nickname he'd given her. She knew for a fact that she was not a "little wolf." She really didn't know why she was allowing him to carry her, for one she hated heights, which was why she was doing her best to keep her eyes firmly shut as they streaked across the sky. _Because you are too weak to travel all the way home, you would never make it in this state._

Darcy sighed; sometimes she hated it when her guardian was right. The hunter's body was warm against her fur. His warmth penetrated the cold deep within her bones. All she wanted to do was to curl up next to his warmth and sleep. She felt inexplicitly at ease with him holding her, and yet she felt as if every single nerve ending in her body was on fire. She would not deny it; she was extremely attracted to this man. Maybe it was the way he held her so gently in his arms…oh hell it was probably his smoking hot bod. She felt like a hormonal teenager again, something she didn't need to go through again. _You can just put me down right outside of town._

They must be almost there by now, and she didn't want him to know the location of her farmhouse, her den.

* * *

In all his centuries of life Dominic would have never picked that name for his lifemate, he'd spent many hours trying to imagine what his lifemate would be, what she'd look like, what she'd be like, even what her name would be. So far he was not doing so well. He'd never imagined that she'd by a lycan. And he'd never even considered that her name would be one such as Darcy. Yet inexplicitly he felt that that name suited her, it was strong, just like his lifemate.

_That is an interesting name. I have never read this Jane Austen, what do you think of her work? _

Was he honestly tiring to start a conversation about books now? In middle of a thunder storm, with a deranged monster probably even now on their tails? Who was this guy?

_I am Dominic of the Dragonseeker clan. And as I have already said before I am your lifemate, the other half of your soul. _

Darcy honestly had no idea how to respond to that. Luckily, or unluckily depending upon how you look upon it she didn't have to. She could feel the pressure building in the back of her brain, _Look out!_

Both her and her guardian screamed out the warning, she felt her stomach fly up into her mouth as the lightning bolt slammed down and Dominic barrel rolled to the side. She heard Dominic's hiss of pain as the lightning, having missed his back, scorched his arm. Darcy forced her eyes to open, without her wolf vision she wouldn't have been able to see a thing with the rain slashing down angrily. Squinting against the storms fury she desperately searched for any sort of land mark with which to guide the hunter.

The lightning continued to rain down as Dominic dipped, and dodged, occasionally plummeting downwards in order to avoid the strikes. He could feel Razvan's hand behind this, his nephew might be too injured to fight in person, but he could still weave spells. Dominic could see the delicate tendrils of mage spells in the air, forming a cage all around them. The spell pulsed a deep bloody red. Had he not been carrying his lifemate he might have been able to escape, but as it was they were trapped.

_ I refuse to let a cage of lightning be my demise, that is just to weird for words, and I'm seeing my baby girl grow up. On my count you will fly directly downwards, and then shoot off to the left. _Dominic felt her immense power as her command thrust into his mind. A younger, less experienced Carpathian would have instantly succumbed to her order. But he was an ancient, and would not be so easily ordered around. Following the mental path of the order back her mind he quickly read her plans before she closed her mind. The strength within her mind, the determination, the power stunned him. She was nothing he'd ever encountered before. How was it that she was so powerful? In that moment Dominic knew that he was in for a hard time trying to claim her. She would not, could not be influenced by him, she was his equal.

_Stop your daydreaming up there, ready, set, DIVE!! _Clutching Darcy in his arms tightly, Dominic plunged for the forest floor, he could feel her terror. It occurred to him that she was afraid of heights. He felt it as she took power from all around her, drew it out of her surroundings and amassed it. He felt it as she shot the ball of raw energy back through the lines of mage power. The scream shook the night as the ball of power found its target. Its sound grated on his ears, and without her prompting Dominic shot through the now downed cage to the left. He was so relieved to have his lifemate safe, for the first time in his life he let his guard down during battle, allowing Razvan to get in one last blow.

The lighting strike was filled with anger, and fear. Razvan's final say in this particular battle, but it struck Dominic squarely in the back. He was falling, his lifemate clutched in his arms. He felt a curious shifting, as if he was falling through a barrier, and instantly he felt Razvan's influence disappear. It must be a protective barrier, he thought confusedly.

_STOP FALLING!_ Her demand was so laced with power and fear that despite the huge hole in his back he felt himself slowing down, he was floating now, he and his lifemate, and slowly, they touched down to the ground.

* * *

Darcy wanted to kiss the ground beneath her paws, but she had more important things to do. They had made it through Razvan's cage and through the barrier that protected her territory. She had even managed to get the hunter to land right in her front yard. So that was good. But judging by the hunter's pale skin tone, and pain expression he needed medical attention. And fast. With a thought she shed her wolf form. It was still storming overhead but she could no longer feel Razvan's influence in the storm. "You need to roll over so I can see the damage." Her voice was calm, even though she felt fear clutch her heart at the thought of him dying. With a groan the hunter rolled over.

She couldn't help but let out a gasp at the wound, his back had been blown open. She didn't even know where to start. _You must pack soil on my wounds little wolf._ That was right; Carpathians had this thing with soil. "Can you hold on for a few more minutes, I'm going to go get help, we'll move you to the cellar and pack your wounds there." All she got in response was a slight head movement, but she didn't waste a moment's time. With the unnatural speed of her kind she raced the little ways up the hill to the farmhouse she and her little family lived in. She could see that the lights were still on in the TV room, meaning that Briar was still up. Good. Pausing only to swipe a pair of sweatpants, and T-shirt from the clothesline, for once she was glad that Briar never remembered to take in the laundry. Quickly pulling on the clothes she burst into the house.

* * *

Briar jerked awake as his sopping wet sister burst into the house. Dirt and blood covered her, and her eyes looked a little crazy. For the first time in his memory she looked rattled. He stood quickly from the couch where he'd fallen asleep, relief pouring over him at her return. She was safe, she'd come home. He enfolded her in a big bear hug, and felt her relax slightly as she returned the embrace before she let go. "Briar I need your help. There is a Carpathian hunter outside and he is injured very, very badly. We need to take him to the cellar and pack his wounds with soil." Her speech was hurried and confused but he didn't waste anytime in asking questions, he simply gestured toward the door and followed his sister out. He would find out all about it later, for now if there was someone injured then it was their responsibility to take care of them. They were wolves, guardians of all, and a Carpathian would not be able to get any help from anyone else in this region. He knew of the Carpathians, both of them did, they had been raised on the stories of the other races as children. His parents and grandparents had all taken turns telling them of the elusive jaguars, the powerful mages, and the many others. But above all they had spoken of the Carpathians, of the hunters, who all too quickly become that which they hunt. Running through the storm, Briar almost ran over his sister as she stopped abruptly at the bottom of the hill. The hunter was at her feet, and Briar could tell from the seriousness of the wounds, that they would not get any sleep tonight.

* * *

It took a lot of work, the hunter was _heavy_, but between the two of them Darcy and Briar managed to get to the side of the little house and down the cellar steps to the little used room. It was here that the past owners had stored their produce they had grown from the surrounding fields. Fields that Briar and Darcy now rented out to their neighbors for extra money. Now the cellar was just a storage room for all junk that they didn't want in the barn. Gingerly they set the hunter down on a cot the previous owners had left behind, one that they'd never bothered to get rid of. "Briar, take that bucket in the corner and gather as much dirt as you can, try and get it from the fields that's wear it's the most fertile." Her orders given she turned her attention back to her patient, as Briar quickly raced out with the bucket. The hunter's breathing was shallow, his eyes closed. Kneeling down beside him she brushed the damp hair back from his forehead. His face was still pale; he had lost a lot of blood, blood that he'd need to replace. She'd have to do it quickly before Briar returned. She would not have her brother tied to anyone by blood, he would remain free.

She felt her canines grow out, and bringing her mouth to her wrist she quickly ripped into her flesh. The pain was nothing compared to what the hunter must have sustained for her, so she pushed it back. Raising her bloody wrist to his mouth she willed him to drink, to live.

The blood was rich in Dominic's mouth; it tasted of deep forests, of moonlight runs beneath a heaven filled with stars. His teeth bit down hard around the offered wrist, he couldn't get enough, wanted to drink forever. But something made him stop; a soft growl penetrated the rising bloodlust. He sealed the wound with a swipe of his tongue, before looking up at the donor. Green eyes filled his vision, his lifemate. He could feel her blood run in his veins; he could feel the pathway between their minds strengthen. The need to tie her to him beat at him. But he had a feeling that such a direct approach would only make her run from him. So he would bide his time for now, by tomorrow he would be back to full strength. Already he could feel her rich blood rushing to repair the wounds in his back. No he would heal tonight, and tomorrow, tomorrow he would set up his ambush, he would start to win his lifemate.


	6. Chapter 6

Hey guys! You better all be grateful to me for posting, because I should really be studying for AP testing right now. haha. In order to show the thanks that I'm sure you all feel, you should all post, it is really motivating and I didn't get any feedback on the last chapt. Hopefully this chapter isn't too hurried sounding, sorry if it is because I really have to go study, let me know what you guys think please. so enjoy and REVIEW!! Also let me know how I did with Laki, so many times childrens dialogue sounds really bad so let me know what you think of it.

* * *

Darcy felt like hell. The fight and subsequent healing of last night had taken quite a toll on her body. Not to mention the fact she'd spent the rest of the night taking care of the hunter. She let out a groan as she slowly rolled over in her bed. She didn't want to get up; sometimes she just wanted to stay in her nice cozy den forever. But duty called, she had to get Laki on the bus, see Briar off and call work to say she wasn't coming in.

Opening one eye, she gazed at her alarm clock for a few moments before the time registered. Eight o' clock! She was late! With a little yelp she fell out of her bed and onto the hard wood floor. Groaning at her sore and worn-out body she quickly stood up, and wobbling a bit made her way out of her room down the hallway, down the stairs and into the kitchen. She could not believe she was this late! Laki's bus came at 7:30! Now she'd have to wake her up drive her to school, call the high school and get Briar excused! And work must be wondering where in the hell she was!

The little note on the kitchen table brought her internal stress rant to an abrupt halt.

Darcy,

Took Laki to school today and called the bakery. Mel says not to come

In until you're completely well. I also took the car so I can pick Laki up after school, we're going to go see a movie so you can sleep more.

P.S: I locked the cellar doors from the outside, not sure if that will keep the hunter in but, hey worth a shot.

Later

Bri

Darcy could feel the tears well up in her eyes at the note. _God I'm going soft. _She chided herself. He was such a good brother, he'd also been there. Quickly she wiped her eyes, "Enough of that." She reminded herself. First thing was first, she needed a shower. Then she'd eat and clean the house a bit, and then she'd crawl back into bed and sleep.

* * *

"MOMMY! WE'RE HOME!!" Laki's shrill little voice awoke Darcy several hours later; feeling must more rested, if not still sore. Darcy could here the pitter-patter of her daughter's feet race up the stair and up the hall. Swinging the door open the five year old then proceeded to fling herself across the room and on to the bed, landing squarely on Darcy.

"Ooof." Darcy felt the air rush out of her stomach as the little girl landed on top of her and started to bounce up and down excitedly. "Mommy, mommy, guess what?! Bri and I saw a movie, it was so funny! And in class today I got a golden star! Oh oh and also I picked out my own clothes today! Like a big girl!"

Darcy could feel her head spinning at the rush of information. Regaining her breath she took it one thing at a time, she so often had to do with Laki.

"That's great Hon! That's three gold stars this week! I'm so proud of you!" Slowly Darcy pulled herself up so she was propped up against the pillows before sweeping the little girl into her arms and giving her a bear hug. She could hear hurried footsteps coming up the stairs, which would be Briar.

Right on cue Briar entered the room, a lot quieter then Laki had. His green eyes took in the small girl on the bed with Darcy and his face immediately turned stern, "Laki you shouldn't be up here, remember what we talked about on the way home? You're supposed to let mommy rest."

"Its fine Bri, I was just about to get up anyway. But thank you. Now come over here and tell me all about the movie." Darcy patted the bed beside her, she knew that Laki'd just been worried about her, she was always the one to get her ready for school and the little girl had probably been worried all day when it had been Briar who had gotten her ready.

It took a few seconds for Briar's face to relax into its normally warm and open attitude, but then he ambled over to the bed and sat down on top of the covers.

"What'd you guys see?" Laki was bouncing up and down again causing the whole bed to bounce.

"Forgetting Sarah Marshall." Shock registered in Darcy's mind, then anger.

"You took her to WHAT!?" She yelled in horror as Briar and Laki collapsed into giggles at her expression.

"You should have seen your face!" Briar managed to gasp out, he was doubled over with laughter.

"Yah, you looked pretty funny mommy!" Laki proceeded to do an impression and then continued to laugh uncontrollably.

At the sight of the two of them Darcy felt herself begin to laugh.

"Oh so you two think you can pull a fast one on me ay?" Grabbing a pillow beside her Darcy raised it above her head, "This means war!"

* * *

Dominic knew the exact instant the sun set. Slowly he took inventory, while his back was slightly sore for the most part he felt fine. _His lifemate, she'd saved him. _He remembered the way he blood had tasted in his mouth, it was a taste he knew he'd never get enough of, one that he'd never have to get enough of, she would be his forever. Slowly he stretched and got off of the cot he'd been resting on. He wanted to go to her, he could sense her nearby.

He appeared to be in an underground shed of some sort, how had she'd known to put him underground? There was even soil packed onto his wounds, or where his wounds had previously been, he would find out later. With a thought he cleaned himself and dressed himself in a clean pair of black jeans and a black t-shirt. Producing a hair-tie he started to tie his long hair back when he remembered what his lifemate had said earlier. With a thought his waist long hair was reduced to just under ear length. Slowly he shook his much lighter head; maybe there was something to this short hair thing.

He would claim her tonight. He had decided. He would not risk her being unprotected during the day, not with Razvan after her. But first he needed to feed, in the blink of an eye his form dissolved into that of mist and he streaked up the cellar steps and under the door. Once out he quickly reformed his body, as he took stock of his surroundings. The little cellar that he had been in came up right next to a little farm house. From where he stood, he appeared to be on the east side of the building, to his left of the little house and about fifteen feet to his left, which was also the left of the farmhouse, there was a big old barn. While old it looked to be in good condition, he could sense an old horse and a donkey within. Senses flaring he scanned the area, besides those two in the barn, there was a dog sniffing around in front of the house and three people in the house. A male, the boy from last night, what had his lifemate called him? Briar. That was his name. He was his lifemate's brother, Dominic could sense the similar thought patterns, that and they'd had the same green eyes, that much he could remember from last night. He wished he'd had the presence of mind to look at his lifemate, really look at her. He remembered her wolf form, but he could recall almost nothing about her human one, he'd been too disoriented. He shook his mind away from that train of thought, he'd have plenty of time to examine his lifemate later, and thoroughly.

He turned his mind once again to the people inside. The third occupant had him stumped, it was a little girl. She was related to them, closely, but her thought patterns were more similar to his lifemates then to his lifemates brother, even then the girl'd thought patterns seemed…almost Carpathian. Perhaps another sister or cousin or… The thought struck him like a physical blow. His lifemate had a child.

* * *

The pillow fight having ended, and the room cleaned up, all three of them now sat in the kitchen eating. After Briar had assured her that he hadn't taken Laki to Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but instead Nim's Island, she had quickly turned her attention to whipping up diner. She was in the middle of admiring the pink tutu that Briar had let Laki wear to school today when she felt the surge of anger and hurt roll over the house. The wind outside picked up and thunder rumbled.

All three of them stilled as they felt the anger in the air.

"Mommy, the man outside is sad." Darcy felt shock register as Laki's comment. She didn't really know why she felt shock at anything Laki did anymore. The little girl was extremely psychic, and Darcy knew that Laki would be immensely powerful when she was older. Something that she worried about often, she just hoped she and Briar would be able to handle it when Laki came of age.

Darcy pushed those thoughts away; she had other problems at hand. Wiping her hands on a dishtowel, she made her way out of the kitchen and to the front door. She could sense Briar's displeasure, but he didn't protest as she went outside to meet the growing storm, and the hunter who had caused it.

* * *

Dominic felt such a flurry of emotions; he really had no idea what to do. He could feel the storm around him growing as he stood outside of the little farmhouse. His lifemate had a mate already, had a child. He howled out his pain.

"Oh stop it!" Amongst the red haze of anger and hurt that was mind, he heard he voice like a cooling breeze. He hadn't notice her approach so great was his grief, but now he saw her. She was striding across the lawn towards him. She was like nothing he'd ever seen. Her hair was curly and a golden blonde, not the fake platinum that so many mortal had these days. She looked to be only about 5'5 or so but she walked with authority. Underneath her worn jeans and t-shirt he could see that she had a curvy figure, he felt his body clench at the sight of her. She was beautiful. So rapped up in watching her he barely registered her words.

"I refuse to try and cook a meal while you storm and rant outside like a child." In all of his centuries, Dominic didn't think anyone had ever chided him so, except for maybe his sister, but he shied away from that thought as those memories brought him pain. He turned to the matter at hand, his lifemate was reprimanding him. Him! Slowly he glided towards her, closing the distance between them, he didn't stop until he was right up against her. Looking down he could see the confusion in her brillant green eyes. She didn't understand, how could she?

"You didn't wait for me." He could hear the pain in his words even as he said them. He watched for her reaction. Waited for it to become clear to her.

"Wait what? You're mad because I started cooking before you got up?" Darcy honestly had no idea what this guy's problem was. She didn't even think that Carpathian's ate food.

Dominic let out an exasperated breath as he tried to rein in the beast, this whole mess wasn't her fault, she hadn't even known that he existed. He would try his best to explain.

"No, you didn't wait for me. Your lifemate. You choose to find a mate elsewhere, to have a child."

She could hear the hurt and anger and pain in his words, but mostly she heard the accusation. She felt her temper flare at his tone. How dare he criticize her choices, she had chosen to have Laki, to raise her and Briar without "waiting" for him or any other man, not that there'd been any offers. If he had a problem with her family, he could just see himself off of her property. And she would tell him so.

"Hey, now wait just a second. One I don't know who the hell you are, therefore anything that I've done or do in my life is no business of yours. Two I don't really build my life around "waiting" for random men to come in and "save" me. And three I don't have a mate so you can just." That was as far as she got in her rant though, because as soon as she'd uttered her third point the hunter, moving lightning quick, had picked her up around her waist, pulled her close and kissed her.


	7. Chapter 7

Thanks for all the reviews guys! I think I responded to all of them individually but if I forgot someone I just want to let you guys know I really appreciate all the helpful critiques/ thoughts keep them coming.! Hope you like the next chapter!

* * *

Darcy's legs were melting, hell her whole body was on fire. This was the hottest thing she'd ever felt and she'd been struck by lightning only yesterday. The hunter's lips moved against hers, coaxing and demanding all at once. Somehow her arms had wrapped around his neck pulling him closer. She felt his lips start to trail down the side of her neck, leaving a trail of fire in their wake. She could feel his strong arms around her waist, holding her up in order to compensate for the differences in height. His mouth had stopped over the pulse in her neck and she suddenly felt a flash of pain whip through her body as he bit down.

_He bit me! _Darcy felt her mind crash back into her body. How had a simple kiss got her so distracted! _What am I doing? I don't even know this guy and I letting him take my blood! _Darcy started to struggle but his arms were like bands of iron holding her to him, refusing to stop until he had had his fill, and in a tiny corner of her mind she had to admit that didn't really want him to stop either. _But he has to._ She admonished herself. She renewed her struggles, until slowly; gradually the hunter closed the wound on her neck and pulled away.

Darcy was so angry, she could hardly think straight, how dare he feed on her as if she was some sort of….of …livestock! The look on his handsome face was so smug she couldn't hold back her desire to smack it right off. She caught him off-guard with the smack, his face registering such a comical expression of surprise she would have laughed had she not been so angry.

* * *

Dominic did not think he'd ever experienced being slapped across the face before. It hadn't hurt in the least; she must still have been tired from last night. He had a feeling that if she had been at full power he'd have felt the slap down to his bones. Slowly he covered the spot she'd slapped him with his own palm.

He knew that he should be feeling angry at such an action from a lifemate, and yet he didn't feel angry in the least, instead he found the whole situation, well relieving. After centuries of being spoken of in whispers, he had finally met someone who was not afraid of him; it was quite refreshing._ Feelings surely were confusing things._ He thought to himself.

This couldn't be right, in his experience being hit did not lead to happiness, but in this unique instance he could not help but let the laughter bubbling up inside him out. He had finally met his life-mate and she was his match in every way. She looked so offended and indignant with her little hands curled into fists and resting on her hips. Her nose was crinkled adorably as she glared at him, but with the blood connection even stronger between them he could tell that beneath that tough exterior she was feeling confused, turned on, angry and a multitude of other emotions. He wanted to sweep her up in his arms and cuddle her to him but he had a feeling that she wasn't going to let him close to her for awhile. He'd have to sneak up on her.

* * *

The hunter's laughter really caught her off guard, she'd been ready to have an angry Carpathian on her hands but he seemed to find the whole situation funny. Damn hunters! He must be bi-polar because she was pretty sure that just a few moments ago the very sky had been storming with his anger, and yet now he was laughing, the weather once again returning to clear skies as the clouds along with his anger dissipated. In fact with his deep laughter filling the air around her Darcy was having trouble staying angry as well. _He took your blood…_At once she felt her anger gather again, no one took her blood without her consent. No one.

"Now you listen here you big jerk. I don't know who you think you are, but around here, I make the rules. So if I was you I'd just forget about taking any more blood from anyone around, in fact it might just be better if you went on your way, before I decide to do more then just slap that smug smile off your face." Darcy didn't know if she was shaking from the anger she felt at having let her guard down so thoroughly, or from the intensity of that kiss. _Stop thinking about it! It was just a kiss._ _It wasn't even that good!_

_**It was more then just a kiss; it was the best kiss of your life. But do not worry we will have much more time with which to improve upon our technique should you feel the need to. **_

Darcy let out a little gasp as images of them together filled her mind. Having taken her blood a second time he was firmly in her head now. _It_ _is just my luck to have a mind bond with one of the dirtiest minds I've ever seen. I didn't know Carpathians were such horn-dogs. _She thought back in response.

Once again his deep, smoky laughter filled the night air at her quick retort. "You will get used to it I'm sure little wolf." She sent him a glare at the little endearment he'd used before turning to stalk back into the house, some people had better things to do with their time. She had a dinner to cook, a pack and household to oversee. She was the alpha; she couldn't afford to have a relationship. She didn't have to hear the hunter's footsteps to know that he was following her back to the house and for the first time in her life she could imagine what a rabbit felt like while being hunted by a wolf. She could feel his sharp-green eyes upon her figure, and tried to squash down the wave of heat that that thought brought along with it.

_**Such a nice figure. **_His voice floated through her mind again. She got the feeling that he never really left.

_You keep looking at my butt and I'll be forced to permanently remove an appendage most men are very protective of. _ She could feel his amusement at her threat, it was kind of nice to have someone to argue with. _Stop it. _She scolded herself, he would be gone soon anyway once he was completely healed, she thought to herself, ignoring the pain that that thought brought her.

_**I feel that to remove such a thing would be very harmful to not only myself but cruel to my lifemate as well. **_Dominic had never felt so happy in his life, even in those few years when he had retained his emotions he could never remember having laughed so much at one time. He had his life-mate to thank for that, she was everything he needed, funny, tough, and vulnerable all rolled up into a perfect little package. He was so involved in his thoughts he almost ran into his lifemate as she stopped abruptly before going up the three steps to the front porch. Turning around his attention was immediately caught by the seriousness in her gaze, all humor and sass was gone. She seemed to be collecting her thoughts, and rather then read them he instinctively knew that the words she was going to say she wanted to be said out loud.

Her eyes were hard as they locked with his. At this instant he could see the wolf that lurked underneath, he could see it peering out from within. He could see the protectiveness of her kind, but most of all he saw the alpha that she was.

Her voice, though merely a whisper, carried power as she started to speak.

"Inside of this house are the two people I hold most dear in my life. I really don't know why I'm letting you stay here with us, much less risking their safety by letting some strange hunter into my house. But whatever the reason, the fact that you saved my life or that my instincts tell me your trustworthy, should you so much as harm one hair on either my daughter's or my brother's head you will wish that you had never been born." At this point she let out a deep breath before continuing in a softer more friendly voice, "Look, I don't know what's going on between us, I don't understand the whole Carpathian life-mate thing, it's kind of foreign to me, but I'm not one to complain about lack of normalcy. All I ask is that whatever happens between us you think about your actions and who they affect." At this point she seemed to be struggling for the right words, Dominic watched as she ran her fingers nervously through her hair. Reaching down, he slowly took her nervous hands within his own strong ones and held them. She couldn't hide her thoughts from him, she knew from her parents and grand-parents much of the ways of the Carpathians, and she knew that to have a life-mate was a great commitment, one that she didn't fully understand. She had already had to disrupt the lives of her family so much just trying to keep them safe; she refused to let anything more uproot them. Refused to harm them in anyway and she wanted him to understand that before they even entertained the notion of having any sort of relationship. Her hands still held in his he stared deep into her eyes as he put into words what she could not.

"You put you family before all else, and you will not have anyone tear you apart, Carpathian, vampire or other. What you are trying to tell me is that if I want any sort of relationship with you I must place your family before all else, they must become my own. This little wolf I can assure you of, anyone or anything you love will not only be placed under my protection, their needs will be placed above my own. That is what being lifemates is about, it's about placing someone needs and wants above all else. You can rest easy little wolf, your family is save with me."

Darcy could feel tears starting to well up in her eyes, this hunter, this man, Dominic, he already understood her better then she understood herself. He had spoken straight from his heart, and Darcy could feel all her fears ease as he continued to gaze straight into her eyes with his intense green ones. _What am I getting myself into?_ She mused silently. _It is time you had a mate, it takes two alphas to run a pack. _ From deep within her, her wolf added her thoughts.

_As If I don't have enough voices in my head already! _But she would have to think about what her wolf had said.

"Mommy! Briar burned the rolls, and he gave one to the dog!" Laki's voice pulled Darcy from her silent reflection. She dropped Dominic's hands immediately at the sound of her daughter's voice. The sound of the screen door banging open announced the 5-year olds arrival. Running to the top of the porch steps, Laki stopped at the sight of the strange man and her mother. The young girl seemed to take in everything about the scene before her and Dominic was struck by the waves of power that radiated off of the little girl. As she surveyed the scene she seemed much older then she was, her eyes an ever-changing combo of green and blue seemed to taking in much more then people three times her age ever would.

Within a blink she was once again a normal little girl as she ran down the three porch steps to where he and her mother stood. From behind her mother's leg she peeked out and up at him, he felt his heart warm at the sight of her. His lifemate's daughter was adorable; her hair was cut about chin length and was curly and blond just like her mothers. In fact the only thing that about her that did not render her to be a miniature version of Darcy was her ever-changing eyes. Eyes that seemed familiar to him, in fact they were almost like the eyes of his family almost like…Suddenly it clicked. That was why Razvan was after them, it wasn't just a random attack but rather an attempt to retrieve this little girl, to retrieve Razvan's own child.

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Deep within the ground Razvan called upon the power of the earth to heal his grievous wounds. His hideous teeth gnashed together as he planned his next attack. The presence of Dominic would prove to be problematic; his great-uncle was a great warrior, even better then himself he suspected. But he couldn't leave this child, he needed her blood, the power granted to her by being the first half Loup-garou Carpathian mix in existence. The alliance had taken much orchestration by Razvan and he would not let her disappear again. Just the thought of how much power that child held in her made Razvan drool. He would get the child, and with her power he would not only kill his grand-father Xavier, he would kill Mikhail Dubrinsky and assume control of the whole of Carpathians, of the whole of mankind.


	8. Chapter 8

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Sorry I didn't post last night as usual, i went to see Indiana Jones instead...sorry :). Anyway I only have three days left so after that I promise I will post more often.on time. Also I was rereading some early chapters and realized that in the first chapter I said that Darcy and Briar lived in an apartment, sorry about that I'll update that chapt and change that. Hopefully that's the extent of my inconsistencies in this story, although I'm sure that that's not. Oh one more thing, sorry if you got a billion e-mail saying there was a new chapter, my computer got messed up and the chapter order was all over the place so I had to delete all of the chapters and upload them all all over again. Sorry about that...now enjoy and most importantly REVIEW!!

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A million questions threatened to bubble up his mind put together this new information. In merely two days everything in his perfectly ordered existence was being turned on its head, and every time he thought that he'd gotten a hold on things some new obstacle was presented. He had found his life mate, but not only was she a mother but mother to his nephew's child. Mother to Razvan's child.

How could this have happened? Had she….had he... Dominic's mind whirled in confusion, all he knew was he wanted to tear Razvan limb from limb for daring to put a hand on his life-mate.

The beast roared for release, _tear him, tear the one who has touched your mate, destroy him and the threat he presents. _Dominic reached for the beast, for the power that it would give him. He would destroy Razvan; he would destroy anyone who came in between Darcy and himself.

_You speak too rashly about our mate, to do as your anger demands would be a breaking of the promise you gave her no more then five minutes again. I will not have you harm our mate by harming those she loves. _ The voice was no more then a growl, and yet its voice managed to penetrate the red haze that was his mind.

_Who are you?_ He questioned, his anger pushed aside for the moment as he attempted to identify the intruder to his mind. He could sense no outside influences, this was not a vampire's trick. The voice seemed to be coming from within him, not from an outside source at all.

_I am your wolf._ The voice responded simply.

His wolf? What was happening to him? In all of his centuries he had never heard of a lycan and a Carpathian being life-mates. Could his taking of her blood been the cause of this? He made a mental note to inquire later tonight, maybe someone knew something about what was happening.

"Mommy, the man is confused and angry again." It was the sound of Laki's voice that startled him back to his body, away from his questions. From behind her mothers legs the little girl peeked out, her eyes filled with curiosity. She was not afraid of him, why would she be, her mom could beat anyone.

"Laki honey, why don't you tell Briar to stop feeding the dog from the table, I'll be right in." Darcy could feel the fear clawing within her belly, she didn't think that Dominic would hurt Laki, but if he felt that he had a right to her there was no telling what he might do. She watched as Laki, unaware of the danger, or maybe simple unheeding of it, skipped daintily up the steps and back into the house. She could sense Briar waiting just inside, prepared to come and help her fight should the need arise. She was glad that he had not come out; the situation was already volatile enough as it was. She didn't know how Dominic would react to another male in the area right now, even if it was her brother.

She watched closely as Dominic breathed deeply in and out, slowly regaining his control. Slowly she stepped closer, placing a hand on his arm in an attempt to comfort him. She felt bad for him, his whole life he'd been waiting for a life-mate, and what had he gotten? A loup-garou with a 5-yr old daughter, 18-yr old brother, and a crazed vampire after her, she wouldn't blame him if he wanted to turn around and high-tail it out of there. Granted it would make her life a lot easier, _But more lonely. _

_Thank you for that wolf. I just love having you to constantly remind me of all of my weaknesses. _A slight growl was all she got in response to her heavy sarcasm.

"Dominic? Are you going to be okay? I understand that this might be kind of hard for you to swallow. I mean I'm sure most of your kind doesn't find their life-mate already carrying this much baggage." She inquired gently, trying to break the heavy silence with a bit of humor.

"May I see?" His voice was barely a growl, at first Darcy didn't know what he was talking about and then it hit her. He wanted to see her memories, wanted to see the choice that had changed her whole life.

Her gut instinct was to say no, hell no. But she paused, he could have simply entered her mind forcefully but he had asked, and she had a feeling that would she say no he would push her no more. Wouldn't it be nice to get all those old pent up emotions off her chest, to finally trust someone with her secrets? She had never told Briar who Laki's father was, although he knew that it had something to do with the vampire chasing them.

_Mates must have trust between them if they are to flourish. _Silently she agreed with her wolf. But was she willing to risk his respect, showing him what had been done?

_Oh, just get it over with! He's already in your mind half the time anyway, he's bound to discover it sometime. _All through out this inner debate Dominic remained completely still, as if he was afraid that any sudden movements would startle her. Raising her gaze to his she slowly nodded.

Dominic did not waste an instant, while he had completely left her mind while she had been deciding; he quickly flooded it once more at her agreement.

With the blood he had taken from her he had been able to stay a shadow in her mind pretty well, although her mind was more complex then anyone's he'd ever encountered before. Now that she had invited him in he could feel all of the secret corners he had not been able to get into open before him. Her memories washed over him and he watched as the scene started to play out in front of him.

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_It had been right after her parents had died in a car crash with a drunk driver, almost 6 yrs past. At 21 she found herself out of college with a degree in anthropology and the overwhelming responsibility for her 12-yr old brother. They were all alone in the world, her grand-parents having died years ago. In front of Briar she had been the epitome of control, with her dominant personality she had easily assumed the role of alpha. With the help of her family lawyer she had not only sold their house and down-sized to an apartment, but she had taken control of their finances and they were doing okay. While she had a degree in anthropology she was a superb cook and was able to support them by cooking in a local restaurant, that and her parents had left them enough money to pay off her loans and save for Briar to go to college. Darcy would do anything to ensure that he be given the same chance that she'd had._

_But away from Briar she was a wreck, she had no one to talk too that could understand. Loup-garou were extremely family and pack oriented and so the loss of her parents took a heavy toll on her, that and the fact that she had to be brave in the face of change for Briar's sake. _

_Then she had met him, Razvan. He had been unlike anyone she'd ever known. He had been kind and had listened intently to her troubles. He'd even related to her the story of how his sister had died, she felt like he understood her. They had met at a party her friend had been having, and she had felt like they had hit it off. She chose to ignore the uneasy feeling he gave her wolf because at that point she was angry at anything related to her heritage. What good was being a loup-garou if it couldn't even save you from a simple car crash? So when he asked her out she only hesitated for a moment, but she figured that she'd be safe enough in a public place. She'd been so naïve._

_The following night they gone out to a local bar, she'd never be sure how much she'd had to drink. To this day she would swear that it's been only one, and being a loup-garou it should take twice as much to even put a dent in her mental capacities. From her scattered memories after this moment she was able to figure out that he must have slipped wolfs bane in her drink. But no matter what had happened she had soon found herself in a strange apartment with Razvan on top of her. The rest could be imagined… _

_In the end it was her wolf, the very piece of her heritage that she'd turned away from that had saved her from becoming one of his mindless slaves. She could still see the way his fangs glistening in the moonlight as he raised his eyes to her. She could still feel the panic as through the fog she suddenly realized that he intended to exchange blood with her, to bind her to him. She watched as her drew a line across his wrist and forced the offering to her mouth. She could still taste his blood in her mouth to this day, the sludge and oil taste that was Razvan. _

_Paralyzed she had watched as he had started to lower his mouth to her neck for a bite, one he'd never get. _

_At the sight of her charge about to be bitten her paralyzed wolf finally broke free of its restraints. In a flurry of teeth and claws she'd nearly ripped Razvan's face off. His skull had cracked and been crushed under her powerful jaws, so unprepared was he for her surprise attack. _

_The next day she and Briar had put their apartment up for sale and left. A month later she missed her period, and nine months later she'd had Laki. Her little Lakiya or her hidden treasure as Laki's full name meant. Laki had been one of the only positive things to come out of the encounter, that and Darcy's new found determination to never forget her heritage, to never again give into weakness. From that day on the three of them had been on the run, until they'd settled here a little over three years ago. Together they'd formed a new pack, she'd helped Briar embrace his heritage and go through his first change on his 16__th__ birthday. They'd survived on Darcy's culinary expertise; cooks were always needed so she had never had any trouble getting a job. _

_With the blood that Darcy had been given she'd been able to sense whenever Razvan was close, but the past three years had been relatively peaceful, she assumed that his attention was elsewhere._

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Dominic slowly pulled back from Darcy's memories, she had beaten innumerable odds. She'd sacrificed much to ensure the safety of her family, her pack. She may think that he felt cheated because of the so called "baggage" she might carry but that was preposterous. He only felt pride, awe at how determined she was to provide her family with a good life. She stared up at him defiantly as she waited for him to condemn her. With the speed of his people he gathered her up in his arms quickly, before she could protest and gave her a hug.

"You are one of the bravest people I have ever had the pleasure of having an acquaintance with." His smooth, soft voice eased her fears as much as his warm arms wrapped around her did. For the second time that night she felt tears start to well up.

"God I turning into such a softy. Enough of this, I need to go finish dinner. I'm sure you need to go feed, we can talk afterwards." Her voice was once again filled with authority as she assumed control of the situation. Dominic couldn't help but smile, she didn't like to show her tears and so she over compensated for it by ordering him around. Slowly he put her down.

"You may have been the boss before Darcy, but now that I'm here I fully intend to do some bossing of my own." His voice was filled with humor as before her eyes he simply dissolved into mist, that enigmatic smile still on his face. She couldn't believe how well he'd taken that.

But enough of that, she had a dinner to finish. As she walked back into the house she turned her attention to the question that had been nagging in the back of her mind the whole time, had he gotten a hair cut?


	9. Chapter 9

Hey guys! Once again I apologize for the lack of updates/ lateness. All I can say is that I'm graduating this week and what with planning the grad party etc, it's been pretty hectic. I will say that I will try to post extra fast next time as a reward for being so patient with me. Hey whats with the lack of reviews? Reveiwshappy authorfaster updates. So you should get on that. I'm really tired right now so enjoy! Let me know how it is and I;ll update as soon as possible.

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Luckily Briar hadn't completely burnt dinner, granted it was a little toasty but it still tasted fine.

"Laki you go and put on your PJ's and get ready for bed. I'll dry the dishes tonight." Her blond curls shaking in agreement the little girl carefully handed her dirty plate to Darcy before skipping on upstairs to her room.

Darcy could feel the worry and anger radiating off of Briar; they needed to talk which was why she'd taken over Laki's chore for her. Usually whoever cooked was exempt from washing and drying. This meant that Briar usually washed and Laki usually dried while Darcy cooked. Being the chef in the family she always made the best meals so she was usually saddled with the cooking.

Carrying Laki's plate over to the sink she dropped it into the warm, soapy water with a plunk. They didn't own a dishwasher. The one that had come with the house had been greatly outdated, and with Briar going to college next year Darcy was forced to scrimp and save wherever they could, meaning no new dishwasher. That and with only three of them (not including Teddy the dog, and Kevin the cat) there weren't that many dishes anyway.

"Alright Briar spill it." Darcy turned to her brother, who was already elbow deep in soap water as he scrubbed and washed. At first he didn't respond, his eyes were fixed out the small window above the sink. She waited as he finished up the dish he was on, dropping it in the right hand side of the sink where the cold rinse water waited.

Turning to her he finally responded, "How can you just let that….that guy! Just barge his way into our lives and take over! That's what started this whole thing! What about Laki? What about her protection? That's why that vampire is chasing us in the first place; I've pretty much figured it out. I'm not stupid or anything. How can you just repeat the same mistake over again? How can you run the risk of making us rip our lives up all over again just because you have some weird thing for vampires!?"

The words came out in a torrent leaving him breathless. Standing there he breathed heavily in and out, his arms soapy, his eyes slightly wild. Darcy couldn't help but wince a little at his words. But he was right, what did she really know about Dominic? Only that he was a hunter, but then again what really separated the hunter from becoming his prey?

_You. You separate me from becoming the vampire, and if you would look into my thoughts as I have looked into yours you would see all that I am. All of my mistakes, all of my triumphs, my dreams and hopes, you would see that your family has nothing to fear _

_from me. Your brother should not speak of things of which he has no understanding._

Darcy felt as though she was being assailed from all sides. She couldn't hold two conversations at once, especially one that was going on inside her head.

_I'll deal with you later. Go hunt or something; let me deal with my brother. _She could feel Dominic's once again withdraw from her mind to become merely a shadow.

"Briar." Darcy watched as he stared at her defiantly, he would be a great alpha someday. She could see that he expected to be reprimanded for his out of rank behavior.

"You're right." She watched as his face illustrated the surprise that he felt.

"I shouldn't be risking you or Laki by having anymore contact with the world of the Carpathian people. And no, I don't think that you're stupid at all, it's just… I don't like to revisit that time in my life. I consider it one of my lowest points, which is why I've never talked to you about it. I'll always regret my actions, how easily I was taken advantage of, but I do not and never regret the result of those actions. Without those actions we wouldn't have Laki now. I am sorry for all the moving and uprooting that you've had to cope with. I know how hard it was for you, but Dominic saved my life and I think that we owe it to him to at least let him crash with us for a little while."

This just seemed to be a day of revelations. That had been the most she'd talked to Briar about that time period since they'd talked about their parents death. Darcy guessed she should have told him more about it sooner, but she was used to being the alpha, the one who took care of everyone else. She wasn't used to sharing her troubles with anyone, even Briar. She remembered how hard it'd been for her to go to therapy and talk about her parent's death, but she also remembered how much it had helped. Right here and now she would have to make a promise to share more of her problems with Briar, he had a right to know what was going on, he was old enough now.

She watched as Briar slowly digested this information, picking up a towel he slowly wiped off the soap suds from his arms before closing the gap between them and giving her a big hug. Darcy always forgot how tall he was getting.

"I'm sorry I snapped Darcy. I just wish you'd share more with me. I'm not 12 anymore." At almost 6 ft he towered over Darcy, it didn't help that he was still growing, a fact that he couldn't help but rub in as often as possible.

"All I ask is that you give him a chance, we both need to get to know him. Who knows maybe he can help us to get rid of our pesky vampire problem." Darcy watched happily as the usual laughter ever present in Briar's eyes returned.

"Alright I'll give him a try. But this time if you run into trouble we'll deal with it as a family. We may not have a lot of members but we're still a pack."

Turning back to the dishes Briar finished the rest as Darcy rinsed, dried, and put them away. They still had a few minutes before Laki would return, it took her a while to put on her PJ's, but she still refused help.

"So, are you taking Jamie out tonight?" Darcy couldn't help but tease Briar about his girlfriend. She watched as his cheeks turned a slight pinkish in tone as he answered her question.

"Well I was planning on it. Unless you need me to stay home?" His eyes once again turning serious at the question.

"No, we should be fine. We'll just watch a movie, same as every Friday."

With a nod Briar wiped off his wet hands before leaving to go change for his date.

"Mommy! Can we watch Beast?" Laki's loud voice announced her arrival as she raced into the kitchen all ready for bed in her Disney princess PJ's, clutching her stuffed animal Beast. Darcy couldn't help but laugh at the eagerness in Laki's gaze. No matter how many times they watched Beauty and the Beast Laki always wanted more. But it being one of Darcy's favorites as well she didn't really mind, although Briar had claimed that if he heard the opening number one more time he would shoot himself.

"Did you brush your teeth?" Laki had a tendency to forget that and Darcy knew that once the movie began it was a lost cause trying to get her to do anything. Laki vigorously nodded her head, causing her blond curls to dance.

"Alright then. Why don't you put it in the player while Mommy goes and gets into her PJ's to." Darcy had barely finished speaking before Laki once again raced out of the kitchen across the hall to the TV room. With a shake of her head at Laki's eagerness Darcy quickly headed upstairs to get on her pajamas.

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Dominic soared through the cool night air, the small college town spread out below him. Even with the thunderstorms of last night, what little of them had been of natural causes, you could feel a little bit of bite to the air as fall began to set in. Even with such little light his super-natural eyes could detect the color of red and orange below as the trees began to turn.

With the blood he had taken earlier from Darcy he had not needed much more to fore fill his hunger. Fully sated he turned his mind to the mystery of his life mate's blood. It had to be the richest that he'd ever tasted, no surprise considering that she was a lycan. Slowly he started to list the information that he knew. Her blood was very rich, high in iron, an attribute he assumed came from her wolf's need for meat. She healed when she shifted but from what he had seen of her mind that was a talent that needed to be practiced, one did not simply heal after shifting. She had felt no adverse affects from him taking her blood twice over a small period of time Granted he had not been able to exchange with her but she should have still felt a little woozy.

In his owl form he slowly circled downwards until he finally found a branch on which to perch. His mind mulled over the matter for but a few moments before it clicked. Her kind must produce blood at a highly increased rate. That explained why she had felt no side-affects from having been fed on, and why her blood seemed so thick. _It must be a conscious choice. _He thought to himself. That would be why she was able to heal so quickly, the more blood the faster the body was able to heal itself, leaving the blood thicker. That would also explain why she was able to feed him without feeling the affects, he was merely drinking excess blood.

But that didn't answer what was happening to him. With every passing hour he was becoming more and more aware of the creature inside of him. Not the beast that lay inside every Carpathian male, but a more intelligent creature, a wolf. He knew that of all of the other immortals lycan blood was one of the only ones able to compete with Carpathian blood. Could it be that she was turning him? What did this mean? He had fully intended in turning her until he had found out about her dependents. How would she take care of Laki if she needed to sleep during the day? He needed help in this situation, but who to ask?

_Mikhail. _He felt out the private pathway carefully, if anyone would know about the lycans it would Mikhail. As prince he knew all that his people knew.

_What do you have need of Dragonseeker? _Mikhail's voice though commanding still conveyed the utmost respect to one of the last remaining members of one of the most powerful Carpathian clans.

_I must know all that there is to be known about the Lycan race. I have found my life mate and she is one. But I fear that there will be some sort of battle between our bloods when we exchange. _

It was a few moments before Mikhail responded.

_You are in luck Dragonseeker, for one of our hunters has also recently found his life mate, and she, though not raised a lycan, is of their blood. I believe you know Manolito De La Cruz? I would suggest that you ask him your questions as I have very little knowledge on the Lycan race. To know more of them would be a great help indeed. I must say that I am greatly pleased that you have found your life mate; I would only suggest that you tread carefully with the Lycans. From what little I recall of them they are a race equal to us in power. I wish you luck with your life mate, lord knows that most of us need it. _ Mikhail's voice was full of laughter at the last part, as if was reminiscing on the ordeal that he had to go through to claim his own life mate.

Spreading his wings Dominic glided from his perch, he would ask Manolito as he made his way back to his life mate.

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Don't forget to review!

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	10. Chapter 10

Honestly...disappointed at the lack of reviews. Which is what you guys can blame the lateness of the postings on. That and work just started meaning I'm wiped. Anyway this chapter is a lot of description and set-up for the next chapter so please review and maybe I'll post faster. Rviewshappy authorfaster posts. So POST REVIEWS!! And I promise that hte next chapter will be a lot more action packed.

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"I use antlers in all of my DECORATING!!" The sound of singing hit Dominic even before he knocked on the little farmhouse's door. He didn't recognize the song, but he could distinctly hear little Laki's high voice harmonizing beautifully with his life-mates alto. What would it feel like to have someone to sing with? He quickly pushed the sad thought aside, he was about to find out. Once more he felt his heart melt a little at the thought of his life-mate and her family, at the thought that he might be able to call them family to one day.

He had managed to talk to Manolito on his way back to the farmhouse and what he had learned had been very intriguing. Manolito's life-mate Mary-Ann was not raised a lycan as Darcy had been. She did not know the full scope of her powers but she had been successfully transformed, but not without some…complications. It seemed that legend was right, lycan blood was just as strong as Carpathian and from what Manolito had said it seemed that the transformation could theoretically go both ways. Something Dominic could attest to being true. Even now he could feel Darcy's blood in his veins, could feel his newfound companion, the wolf, growing stronger.

Dominic listened as the singing stopped, the occupants of the house finally realizing that the knocking had in fact come from outside, not the movie. The purple door in front of Dominic opened, leaving just a screen door between Dominic and the warmth that seemed to radiate from inside the little house.

"Oh! It's you. Why did you bother to knock?" Darcy pushed open the screen door and motioned for him to come in, but Dominic didn't move.

"What's wrong?" Her face quickly turned serious at his expression. If she didn't know better she'd think that he was, well nervous or something.

"You must invite me into your home verbally and of your own free will in order for me to enter." His voice was dark compared to the carefree singing that had previously filled the house. He watched as she slowly digested this information. Would she turn him out? He knew that he was turning her whole life upside down, now she had the chance to refuse his claim. Not that he would just sit back and let that happen, but it would be a much better start to the relationship if he didn't have to force his way into her life.

"Okay." She answered simply.

"Okay what?" In all of his centuries he could never recall having felt this way. This must be what the mortals called…nervousness.

"Okay, you can come in. Now hurry up you're letting in the cold air!" With that she turned around and disappeared back into the house.

"Oh." Dominic honestly did not know what else to say. She seemed to just except everything so easily. Maybe it was due to the uncertainty she'd had to endure so much in her life but she was probably one of the flexible persons he'd every known. She just rolled with the punches.

"You coming or what?" Her voice called from inside the house snapping him back to reality. Slowly he opened the screen door and shutting both doors behind him turned to inspect his life-mates home.

The front door led to a small foyer. On his left was a coat tree in the corner of the room and on his right was what he assumed was a coat closet. The wood floors were beautiful and extended forward about 6 ft before they hit the staircase leading up to the second floor. With a thought Dominic got rid of his shoes and set them neatly in the hall, unlike the other shoes (mostly Laki's he assumed from the amount of pink on them) which were strewn about the front hall. Past the foyer there was what looked to be a pretty good sized kitchen on his left and a living room on the right. Looking directly ahead of him the stairs ascended upward to where he assumed the bedrooms were. Skirting the staircases to the left he could see the wood floor continued on as a hallway but he couldn't see where that led.

All in all it was a cozy house, if a little messy, and unlike the huge impersonal mansions that he owned this house seemed to be welcoming and cheerful.

"Come on Nic! You're missing the movie." Laki's voice was clear as a bell and tugged him to his right, toward the living room. Unlike the foyer and hallway this room was carpeted. The carpet was a rich chocolate brown which coordinating perfectly with the lighter brown of the painted walls. He entered the room slowly. The little girl sat on an overstuffed couch to the right of the door. It was backed up against the wall and faced a TV. Windows to the right of her overlooked the front porch and the yard beyond.

Laki bounced up and down impatiently. "My mommy's getting popcorn." The little girl grinned up into Dominic's face, causing an inexplicable feeling of happiness to well up inside of him. Even the nickname, which he would probably never have tolerated from anyone else, filled his heart with joy.

She carefully patted the seat beside her and slowly Dominic, or "Nic" to Laki, sat down. The instant he was seated she turned to look at him. Her eyes, currently a deep green, seemed to swirl as her face turned serious. Dominic sensed the amount of power she held, power that he knew would only grow with time. Darcy would need his help in raising this girl if they ever wanted her to have some semblance of control over her powers.

"You like my mommy." It wasn't a question but a statement. Dominic slowly nodded in answer; he had a feeling that Laki could easily tell when she was being lied to. He wanted her to identify him as being honest, someone that she could always trust to tell her the truth.

The girl merely nodded in return, the seriousness slowly faded and once again he was in the presence of a happy, energetic, 5 yr-old.

"Laki here's the popcorn." Darcy entered the room a bowl of popcorn in one hand and two cans of soda in the other.

If she seemed surprised at all to see Dominic sitting comfortably in front of the TV she hid it well. Instead she handed Laki the popcorn bowl and one of the soda's and took a seat on the other side of Dominic. Dominic watched as Laki hopped down from the couch to retrieve a blanket from the loveseat on the left. Carrying over the huge red blanket she carefully spread it over both Darcy and Dominic before hopping back on the couch and pulling it on top of herself as well.

"Okay we can start now!" Dominic had no idea what movie they were watching.

_It's Beauty and the Beast…you know the Disney version. You Carpathians must be pretty deprived to not have seen one of the greatest animated love stories of all time. _Darcy's tone was filled with humor, and he realized that she was teasing him. No one had ever teased him…well not since his sister. The stab of pain he felt at her memory reminded him of the fact that he hadn't even been able to mourn properly when he'd found out about her death. _What'd wrong Dominic? What'd I say? _

_Nothing little wolf, merely a bad memory._

Beneath the blanket he felt Darcy feel for his hand and slowly lock her fingers with his in a sign of comfort. Dominic felt a current of energy zap up his arm from the contact and he couldn't help but notice that Darcy also jumped a little. The chemistry between them must have been making Darcy uncomfortable because he could feel her trying to pull her hand away. Dominic obliged her but with a mischievous grin he slowly put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer.

_You jerk. _Her voice floated through his mind, making Dominic laugh out loud for the first time it what felt like centuries, only to be shushed by Laki.

As the movie continued on Dominic could not remember a happier time in his life. With Darcy and Laki singing along to all of the numbers he felt the warmth of the house warm his insides, sooth his troubled soul. He could sympathize a little with the Beast and wondered for the first time at the many parallels between this ancient faery tale and the Carpathian race.

It was almost nine before the movie finally finished. Not late to one such as he, but he could clearly see the Laki was flagging.

"I'm not tired." Her voice was grumpy and obviously exhausted as she protested Darcy sending her to bed.

"Laki it is time for bed." Darcy seemed a little tired to; she was probably still a little drained from the fight the previous night. Dominic watched as Laki slowly pulled herself up with a groan and slowly slipped off the couch to the floor. Stumbling she started to slowly make her way to the door, her little feet stomping to show her anger. Dominic did it without thinking, coming up behind the little girl he scooped her up in his arms and started to carry her up the stairs.

_You're going to spoil her. She can walk perfectly fine on her own._

His life-mates voice chided him.

_She deserves to be spoiled a little._ He answered back. From Darcy's mind he was able to find his way up to Laki's room. Carefully he set her down in her bed before tucking the covers all around her. This was what he'd always wanted, a family, a sleepy child to take care of, a quiet night at home. He could feel Darcy behind him as she slowly came around and bent over Laki, kissed her on the head. "Good night honey. Sweet dreams."

There was such love in Darcy's gaze as she looked down on her little girl. It shined through her eyes, pure and unbridled. His heart ached to be looked at by Darcy that way. Tip-toeing out of the room, they quietly made their way back downstairs.

"Well, it's only nine. You wanna watch another movie?" Darcy asked as she bent to pick up stray kernels of popcorn from the living room carpet.

"Sure." Dominic watched her intently as she bent over to grab another kernel.

"You pick a movie and I'll bring these empty cans and popcorn bowl to the kitchen." With that she walked out of the room, Dominic's gaze on her backside the whole time. How could she not notice how sexy she was? Even in what looked to be old sweatpants and a sweatshirt he had barely been able to keep his attention on the movie while she had been sitting next to him. He shook he head out and moved to a small glass case on to the left of the TV to inspect the movies.


	11. Chapter 11

Thank you for the lovely reviews!! Please keep them coming, a simple I enjoyed it, or that sucked, will do. I'm not asking for anything long so I expect more! Okay so the plot line picks up again in this chapter. I hope that the rating is appropriate for this chapter, but let me know if you disagree and I'll change it. Hope you all enjoy it! Also REVIEW!!

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When Darcy returned she found Dominic still studying the movies through the glass case. _Damn he looks good in those jeans_, she thought to herself before pushing her slightly dirty thoughts out of mind. Lately it was if all she could think about was Dominic, and most of those thoughts were not PG ratable. She was a mother for goodness sake! She couldn't be ogling men's butts any more; she didn't have time for that, much less any sort of relationship. Or at least that's what she kept trying to tell herself. But whenever she saw him she felt her heart speed up, especially after seeing him with Laki tonight. He'd been so kind and caring. More importantly he'd willingly vowed to protect her family. He was everything she'd ever wanted in a man and with each passing moment she could feel the bond between them growing.

Darcy shook her head as if to clear her thoughts. What was she thinking even entertaining the idea of starting something with this man? There weren't enough hours in the day as it was without having another person to take care of.

_Ahh but there is always the night_. Darcy felt her cheeks grow hot as Dominic's sex-laced voice filled her thoughts, accompanied by all sorts of not so G images. Her cheeks grew even hotter as it occurred to her that he could and had heard everything she had been thinking. Something that made her highly uncomfortable, her thoughts had always been the one place where she could think or do anything she wanted.

_Do not think of it as losing your privacy, but gaining more. Now instead of just one mind in which to be alone, you have two. _He sighed, he could still feel her unease even after his teasing, a novelty in itself. Turning from the DVD cabinet he enveloped her petite frame in his strong arms and hugged her close to his muscular body. With her body pressed up against his he could barely control the need to take her, to make her his. But he squelched his needs down. His life mate was feeling distress and it was his duty, no his desire, to ease her worry. She slowly relaxed into his large frame; he let his chin come to a rest on top of her head.

"I really don't know what you want from me." Her voice had lost some of its usual confidence and command.

_Little wolf, it's not that I want something from you. It's that I want you. _Dominic purposely chose to use the more intimate means of communication.

_All my life I've heard stories of your race, and I know that you take mate's for life, that much I understand for we loup-garou do that. But what does being a life-mate really entail, more importantly, how will it affect my pack, my family?_ Her voice once again filled with command as she asked about her family. He loved how protective she was of her family.

_That is the question isn't? There has only been one other known case of a lycan being life-mate to a Carpathian. There were some complications. _Dominic sighed and inhaled deeply, the clean floral scent of Darcy's hair, filling his senses. His arms tightened around her, they would have to make a choice, he would never give her up, and he knew that she would never put her family at risk.

Darcy merely waited as Dominic collected his thoughts; she could read his mind if she wanted but she felt that he needed to explain it to her.

_Usually when a Carpathian finds their life-mate they exchange blood directly with that person three times. After the third exchange that person goes through what is known as the conversion, a very painful process if I'm to believe what I'm told. After this conversion the person is now Carpathian, with all of the advantages and powers…and with all of the disadvantages as well. _

Dominic paused, uncertain as to what he should explain next.

_Why must there be a conversion at all? Why must the Carpathian change their life-mate in the first place? If we are indeed life-mates, which I'm beginning to believe if this borderline obsession I seem to have with you is any indication, then why couldn't I just remain loup-garou?_

In the back of her mind Darcy was aware of how odd they must look, completely silent hugging each other in the middle of the TV room. She really hoped Briar didn't come home earlier; she needed to figure this all out without Briar. Dominic must have once again picked up on her thoughts, because as soon as that stray thought had flitted across her mind Dominic swung her up in his arms and she suddenly found herself in her own bedroom.

"Wow that was fast." Darcy said voicing her opinions at the swiftness of their arrival. Here they could finish their conversation without worry of interruption, a fact that Darcy found most comforting.

With a plop, Dominic released his hold on Darcy and dropped her on her bed. He carefully looked around at her room; he'd known where to go from the map in her head. But as much as he wanted to investigate his surroundings, or better yet try out the bed, he knew that he needed to finish answering Darcy's questions. Even now he could hear his sister's words, "You can't have a relationship without any trust. Try and imagine how it is for a female Carpathian Dominic. We're expected to simply go off with a male that in most cases we have never met before. Think how scary that is for us, and remember that when you find a life-mate of your own, to not only treat her carefully and lovingly, but with respect as well."

Rhiannon always had been wise and even after her death he knew that her words were ones you wanted to follow. That was why he had decided long before ever setting eyes on Darcy that if he ever found his life-mate she would be treated with respect, she would have a chance to know him before he claimed her. All her questions and concerns would be answered, a vow that he was finding harder to keep then he had imagined as he watched Darcy shift around on the bed for a more comfortable spot.

"Where were we? Oh yes, why must a Carpathian's life-mate be converted." Darcy patted the spot next to her before laying back, her head propped up on her pillows.

Dominic wondered if she was deliberately testing his will. Slowly he climbed onto the bed and stretched out next to her before continuing.

"One mate can not be without the other. They must continually touch minds and well, enjoy physical intimacy." Dominic peered over at Darcy to gauge her reaction to this answer so far.

"So Carpathians have lots of sex, I suppose I can live with that…" A teasing grin spread across Darcy's face. Was it just her or was it getting really hot in here. Maybe laying on the bed with Dominic wasn't such a good idea. She slowly pushed herself, and started to pull off her sweatshirt, she was getting way too overheated. Pulling her over-sized sweatshirt off revealed her to be wearing an old T-shirt. One that was just the slightest bit too short. As she through her sweatshirt on the floor it rose up showing off her flat stomach.

Gods but he wanted her. He had to rip his gaze away from the inch of so of her tanned, muscular stomach that her shirt revealed. Clearing his voice he tried to once again find his train of thoughts.

"It is because of this constant need, a need that grows stronger with time, that a Carpathians mate must be converted. Carpathian life-mates must be together at all times, and if one of the pair can not go to ground during the day they would suffer great mental anguish. While a Carpathian shuts down their hearts and body during the day to rest, his or her life-mate will suffer above ground, frantic to share mental contact, to have reassurance that their mate is alive." Dominic breathed slowly in and out in an attempt to control his desires as he waited for Darcy to swallow this next bit of information.

"I can't leave my family above ground all day while I sleep. One I have to work all day and two I can't leave my family unprotected during the days."

Her brow was furrowed as she tried in vain to figure out a way around this.

"Yes, but I think that we may have another option open to us." Dominic had been thinking about this ever since his conversation with Manolito. He, unlike Darcy, had no immediate family or ties to prevent him from going through a conversion.

"Lycan blood is as strong as Carpathian and from Manolito, the Carpathian with the lycan life-mate; I have found that the conversion may be reversible. I may be able to convert myself to become a lycan."

Darcy was speechless, that he would sacrifice his culture, all that he had ever known for her, for her family. She couldn't allow him to do it of course; they would find another way for this to work. But just the fact that he'd offered...

In a swift roll, Darcy rolled on top of a surprised Dominic and kissed him. She could feel the evidence of his desire pressed against her hip. She had meant the kiss to be quick but she soon realized her mistake as his arms came up and wrapped around her. God, it felt so good just to have someone to hold her, to kiss her. The kisses deepened as Dominic started to take control. She could feel his hands start to wander, one of them stayed around her waist as the other snaked up her shirt. If she didn't break it off now she knew that there'd be no turning back. Slowly she broke away from his lips, and though he let her pull back his arms remained firmly in place.

"Dominic, there has to be another way, one in which neither of us has to sacrifice all we have." She stared down into his eyes, his deep green eyes, so like Laki's, she felt an unnamed emotion well up inside. And then it hit her. Like Laki.

"That's it!" Darcy exclaimed excitedly. Dominic's face registered surprise at her outburst. "Neither of us should have to sacrifice everything, and I think I know a way where we won't have to. A way for us to meet in the middle!"

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Razvan broke from the soil, anger settling around him like a cloak as he landed. He slowly fingered the huge scar that stretched from one side of his neck to the other. That dumb bitch would pay for marring his appearance. He couldn't wait to see her begging and pleading on her knees as he took her daughter away. With the girl in hand he would be able to put the final part of his plan into action. The jaguars were already well on their way to extinction, the lycans so scattered that neither of the once great races would be able to come to Mikhail's aid when Razvan put his plan into affect. With the information that the girl contained in her blood Razvan would have powers other Carpathians were only able to imagine. He'd have the key to having all of the powers of both the lycans and the Carpathians, with none of the weaknesses.


	12. Chapter 12

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Hey everyone! Great job on all the review! Keep them coming, this chapter took me a little longer to write, and hopefully I'm not moving the relationship too fast but I couldn't get my characters to cooperate with me. They just didn't want to listen. Anyway hope you enjoy, let me know your thoughts on it and on anything I can improve upon etc. Hope to see lots of reviews! Enjoy!

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The dark mage himself could not have thought of a better way to torture Dominic. To have his beautiful life-mate straddled across him, on a bed no less, reeked havoc on his system. Darcy on the other hand seemed oblivious to his…discomfort, as her mind was busy preoccupied with the best way to bridge the gap between their two species. He could think of one very pleasant way in which to achieve this, but he had a feeling that she would not approve of his less then honorable thoughts right now.

He was amazed at how focused she was in her thoughts. But then he'd noticed that Darcy tended to put all of her concentration and energies into one thing at a time. She didn't believe in leaving any job undone, or any thought unexplored it seemed. He had to struggle not to let his hands tighten around her waist as he watched her ponder the dilemma at hand. Her look of concentration was so cute that he couldn't resist raising his head up and capturing her lips with his own.

Dominic's unexpected kiss immediately drew Darcy's attention back to the present. Once again she looked down into his now smiling eyes.

"What is this idea of yours, little wolf?" He asked gently, he was so handsome that he took her breath away. Shaking her head a bit to regain her thoughts she laid out her ideas to him.

"Dominic, Laki is both Carpathian and Loup-garou and yet seems to share neither of our species disabilities, but has all of their powers. She can walk around in daylight unharmed and the full moon does not make her weak as it does the rest of my race. If we could find a way to combine our two bloods in such a manner as hers then neither of us would have to completely give up our lifestyles." Darcy sat back triumphantly as she watched Dominic go over the plan in his mind. She was surprised however when his open, smiling face suddenly turned dark. In one fluid movement he rolled Darcy under him, bracing his arms on either side of her head so as not to crush her with his weight.

"That must be what Razvan is after." Darcy felt herself shiver at the mention of the mages name and all the memories it brought back with it. Intellectually she knew that Dominic would never hurt her, but she felt the all too familiar panic start to rise deep within her belly, triggered by his dominant position. It had been a few years since her last panic attack but she recognized the all too familiar feeling.

Dominic picked up on Darcy's panic immediately, he swore at his own stupidity as he once again rolled her over so that she was resting on top of him. Her head on his chest he slowly stroked her soft blond hair until he felt her relax into him once more.

"What did you do?" Darcy knew what he was talking about without him having to elaborate. What had she done after the rape? She supposed that he had only read her memories up until she had escaped Razvan that night.

"I ran. I didn't really have any means with which to seek help. That and I had both Briar and an unborn child to care for. I pushed it away in my mind until I could deal with it." Darcy buried her face against her neck; as much as she hated to relive those memories she found it a relief to finally confide in someone, to share her problems and difficulties with someone else. She couldn't have found a better man then Dominic to share with she decided. He didn't pass judgment, he just listened.

"When were you able to "deal with it"" His voice betrayed none of his fury but she could feel it within him, she had a feeling that the next time Dominic met with Razvan would not be pleasant for the mage.

Darcy cleared her suddenly choked up throat, "When we finally settled here three years ago I saw a counselor for about a year, which helped a lot. It helped that I was so busy with Laki and Briar that I didn't have to time to retreat inward. I was forced back into the world, and because of that I usually don't think about it. But sometimes…something will trigger the memories and, well it all comes rushing back in." Darcy paused here to gather the rest of her thoughts, she didn't want Dominic treating her like some broken doll, and she needed to let him know that she didn't want, nor need his pity.

"I refuse to let Razvan intrude on my life anymore then he has, I refuse to avoid situations because of what memories they may invoke, that only gives him control over me. So…" Darcy took a deep breath and slowly rolled them both over so that she was once again on the bottom. Once again she felt the panic rise up but she pushed it down, eyes closed she breathed deeply in and out as she struggled to push back the memories that assaulted her. She didn't remember too much from that night but what she did was more then enough. Once again she was under Razvan as he plunged into her, she was weak, helpless.

"Darcy, you do not need to do this. There are plenty of other ways that we may partake of each other that do not cause you displeasure." Dominic's voice was like a breath of fresh air, and his gentle tones centered her firmly in the present. The memories from that horrible night fading into the background. Slowly she opened her now tear-filled eyes and once again met his beautiful emerald colored eyes. What she saw there took her breath away, dare she name it, dare she call out loves name? But it was too late to pretend she hadn't seen it and as Dominic gently kissed her forehead and turned them so that they faced each other side by side on the bed she not only named the feeling within his eyes, but within her own as well. Love.

How could she have fallen in love with this man after barely two days? And yet she already knew the answer to that. She'd been merging her mind with his unconsciously all night and now she merged it fully. Although she had only known him for two days she knew every thought he'd ever had, ever moment he'd ever experienced, she knew every mistake he'd ever made and every kill he'd had to make. She also knew that he would never hurt her, would put her family above all else and that he loved her. Despite all of her faults and mistakes she'd made in her life.

Dominic could and had read every thought; he crushed her to him and kissed her deeply. She loved him, she loved him! He felt a joy such as he'd never felt before well up within him. He wanted to claim her fully, make her irrevocably his. But his wolf quickly put a stop to that; _she cannot join you below the ground. _With a sigh Dominic pulled away from Darcy. His wolf was right.

Darcy could no longer tell whose thoughts were whose, but she heard Dominic's wolf loud and clear, calling up her own wolf. _My mate is right, you must first figure out what you two will do before either of you can claim the other._

Darcy rolled her eyes at both of the wolf's reprimands. She locked eyes with Dominic, a wry smile spreading across her face, "Now you feel my pain. It's like having your mom constantly in your head directing you."

Dominic couldn't help but laugh at the face Darcy made, he was astonished once more on how easily Darcy was able to push forward and deal with life's punches.

"I guess they're right." Darcy said on a sigh, she still lay on her side facing Dominic. "We need to figure out if we can even make this work before we rush headlong into a relationship." Darcy was starting to come down from the clouds; practicality was gaining control of her brain once more. As alpha every decision she made was not about her but her family as well. With that in mind she knew that despite her desire to let Dominic claim her right there and then, she'd have to take it slow with him.

Dominic nodded, to both her spoken and unspoken thoughts. "I don't like it, but I suppose you are right. Although I must let you know that every moment we spend unbound it gets harder for me to resist the need to bind our souls together. While I will try to deny this urge I apologize in advance should it overcome me." Darcy knew what it was to be controlled by instinct and even though she didn't like what Dominic had said she supposed that she would have to accept this part of him just as he accepted all of her.

"Now, about that idea of yours. I believe that that must be what Razvan is after." Dominic quickly filled her in on all that he knew about his grand-nephews activities, about how the dark mage and Razvan had joined forces to destroy the great races, thus leaving the path open to destroy the Carpathian people. By the time they were done it was well into the night, Darcy had heard Briar come in about an hour ago and fighting a yawn she slowly sat up to look at the clock. "1:00 am!! I have work tomorrow!" She heard Dominic give a soft growl at this. "You no longer need to work; I have more then enough money for all of us." His strong arms pulled her down back on the bed.

Darcy choked back a growl of her own, "That may be all well and good but I like to work, to earn my own money, and be independent. Plus, I refuse to live off of anybody else, unless we live off each other equally. I refuse to settle for anything less then a partnership. I just got a promotion on Thursday, and I've already missed my first day as head chef, I refuse to let them all down by missing tomorrow as well." Darcy's voice was once again that of an alpha's and Dominic couldn't help but chuckle at how indignant she sounded. "Fine, but this isn't over, now go to sleep." With that Dominic pulled Darcy into her arms and the two of them slept peacefully through the rest of the night.


	13. Chapter 13

Okay, sorry for the wait, I made this chapter a little longer as an apology. I hope everyone had a great fourth! Lots of exploding stuff...hopefully no fingers though. haha okay without further ado, her it is. Please review!! AS in that wasn't a request...I need feedback it's what sustains me.

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It was with a very long groan that Darcy finally rolled out of bed at 4:00. Even on a normal day it was hard for Darcy to get up that early, but today it was even worse considering the total 3 hours of sleep she had got. It took all of her willpower not to succumb to the desire of staying curled up nice and warm next to Dominic's still motionless form.

_You were the one who wanted to work today; you could have probably had one more day off… _

Darcy's only response to her wolfs logic was a growl. With a long stretch Darcy left the still sleeping Dominic to go and take a shower.

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Dominic awoke with a start, reaching to wear Darcy slept. His hand found nothing. Where was she? Still somewhat in the grasp of his troubled dreams he felt panic and fear rise up at her absence. In one fluid movement he vaulted out of the bed, he had to find her, what if she was in danger?

_Calm yourself. Do not let your panic override your senses. If our mates were in trouble we would know, now use your senses. _

Dominic found having a separate entity within him unnerving. But on the bright side, his new found wolf seemed to have completely tied down the beast, allowing him to think somewhat clearly about when it came to life mate…well in theory anyway.

Following his wolf's advice he forced himself to listen and almost immediately picked up the sound of running water and singing. In the shower. Darcy was in the shower. He breathed a sigh of relief even as he struggled with his body's reaction to the images popping into his head.

Why had he been so panicked to begin with? His dream. He had dreamed. Manolito had said something about dreaming, about how the conversion of Carpathian to wolf meant the arrival of dreams. Dominic had never experienced a dream before, and he found it unsettling how quickly his memories of it disappeared. The more he struggled to grasp hold of what his dream had been about, the more allusive it became. He sighed. It was no use. He simply could not remember, slowly he pushed it out of his head. If he was meant to know than he would.

Slowly he stretched out his muscles, he gave a great yawn, another thing he could not remember ever having happened before. Carpathian's were either awake or asleep, this grogginess simply did not happen. Not to mention that while he had only been sleeping the sleep of mortals he felt rested.

If Darcy and he were to come to some sort of compromise they were going to have to come up with one fast. He could feel his body changing even as he stood there. He wondered if her idea would even work, but she did have a point about Laki. What was it about the girl that allowed her different bloods to co-exist so peacefully with one another? He didn't want to harm the little girl, but he would have to take a look at her blood in the very near future, before he completely turned.

He listened as the shower was turned off and bottles and containers were moved around as Darcy got ready for the day. Did she wake up this early every day? He wondered how she managed it with a little one and a brother to look after.

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Darcy padded into her room barefoot. She could never seem to find her shoes. She wasn't surprised to see Dominic awake and standing at her bedside, what did surprise her was the intensity with which he looked at her.

"What? What is it?" She suddenly felt self-conscious. Even just having woken up Dominic looked magnificent. His shaggy black hair was mussed. The sweatpants that he'd made for himself were wrinkled, along with his black T-shirt. Yet despite all this, he looked just like a male model. A really hot male model. Darcy felt awkward in her uniform of black slacks, white polo t-shirt and green apron standing next to so much hotness. Hotness? What was she some sort of teenager? She smiled at the thought and shoke her head at her own folly. Her blond curly hair swung from side to side, bouncy after just having been blown dry.

Mentally she reprimanded herself, who cared what she looked like she was going to work! She'd be in the kitchen all day anyway.

"Little wolf," In one smooth movement he took her into his arms and pulled her close.

"You look beautiful no matter what you wear." Gently he kissed her. Slowly he pulled back, his nose wrinkled.

"You have washed off my scent." His brows furrowed in displeasure, causing Darcy to laugh.

"You didn't expect me to go to work all smelly. I'd scare all the costumers away." She teased him, spinning out of his arms before he could retaliate. Throwing a laugh over her shoulder she headed out of the room, or she would have if she hadn't of collided into a hard chest. Jeez he was fast.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but did you just infer that I'm smelly?" His voice purred in mock anger, his eyes twinkled with laughter at their banter.

Darcy swallowed a laugh and solemnly nodded yes.

In one bound Dominic was on top of her on the bed his arms mock pinning her wrists.

"Well seeing as how I fully intend to stay by your side for the rest of my life, it'd be better if we start getting you used to my smelliness, now wouldn't it?"

Darcy laughed and tried to squirm out from under him as he rubbed his body against her; in truth she liked the idea of wearing his scent, of him wearing hers. It was what wolves did, "I didn't know that Carpathians were so into marking with scent." Darcy was still working her way out from under his restless body, but this comment made him still.

His eyes locked with hers, "They don't."

For the first time Darcy could see the wolf inside of Dominic peering out.

"If we're going to find a compromise it's going to have to be real soon." Darcy felt guilt wash over her as she voiced what they both were thinking.

_Do not worry little wolf, no matter what I become as long as I have you I shall be very much contented with my life._

This time it was Darcy who kissed Dominic, all thoughts of being on time fleeing from her head.

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Even buried beneath the soil Razvan could sense the moment the sun came up. He had feed well that night and was slowly gaining his powers back, but he knew that Dominic would soon be after him once more. He didn't have much time left to retrieve the child. The Carpathians were growing stronger even as he lay here. Every day more and more of them found their life mates, their connections and information about his plans grew. If he was going to overthrow Mikhail he needed the power that the girl could give him. All he needed was her blood, and then he would destroy her along with the key she held in her blood.

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Darcy practically ran into her work. The Bread Box was a small bakery on the main street of town and the place where she had worked as an assistant baker for three years. Glancing at her watch she groaned as it reported the time to be 5:00. She was usually here at 4:30 but unfortunately Dominic had…distracted her. She had to get going, and fast. Everyday the bread and pastries were baked fresh and seeing as the shop opened at 7 she only had two hours to whip up all the bread and cookies for the day.

As if that wasn't pressure enough, today was her first as head baker. For three years she'd been merely working as an assistant, making just enough money for her family to get by on. If her parents hadn't left them a fair amount of money in their will there would have been no way that they could have afforded to buy that run-down farmhouse and give it all the repairs that it had needed.

She had wanted to make a good impression as head baker (even though everyone had known her for years) because with her knew salary life would be getting a lot easier.

_You can't do anything about being late now so impress them with your mad baking skills. _

Darcy laughed at her wolf's informal language, usually it was so responsible sounding, but it did give her the boost that she needed.

With a big breath Darcy unlocked the back door and strode into her kitchen.

Two hours later Darcy finally had a break as the finished cookies, pastries and bread were safely stored in the display case.

"Good job girl!" Darcy smiled as her new boss (formerly head baker) Mel passed her.

"With your baking skills and my head for business hopefully we can turn this place into the best food purveyor in town."

Darcy was glowing on the inside; she should have known she could do it. She fought vampires after all, why had she been so worried?

The former owner, Mel's aging father, had died about a month ago. This left Mel the sole owner of his business. Seeing as Mel hated to bake, (though she had been good enough at it) she had approached Darcy to become head baker on Thursday.

Jeez had that only been three days ago? So much had happened since then. Darcy looked up at the clock, her 15 minutes were over.

She slowly stretched. He mind once again turning towards Dominic. She wondered how he was doing. He hadn't said whether or not he planned on sleeping a Carpathian sleep the rest of the day, or even if he planned on staying in the house. Her thoughts had been turning towards him all day but each time it happened she turned her mind from that direction. She had cookies to bake.

* * *

Dominic woke up well before sunset. His internal clock told him it was just past one in the afternoon. Slowly he eased his way out of Darcy's bed. After he had seen her to work, she didn't know but he had flown behind her little truck the whole way, he had come back and slept. He should really be sleeping right now, but his body did not feel leaden as usual. The shades to the windows were closed, and yet he only felt the tiniest bit of discomfort at the thought of the sun.

What would it be like to walk around outside during the day? To experience all of the joys that humans took so much for granted. He could recall speaking to Rhiannon on just this manner. When they had been young they had spent many hours discussing what it must be like to eat and drink, to run around outside in broad daylight. He felt a wave a sadness crash over him, slowly he let it pass.

That was in the past, Rhiannon wouldn't want him to dwell on what had been. She would want him to push forward, to enjoy the miracle that had been given to him. With a thought Dominic changed his pants to jeans leaving his black shirt on. Slowly he padded downstairs. Darcy had made sure that all the blinds were closed before she had left so he wasn't afraid of being exposed to full sunlight by surprise. She'd also left a note to Briar and Laki to leave the blinds this way.

Hearing voices Dominic followed them into the kitchen only to find Laki and Briar making lunch.

"Nic!" Laki's yelled, jumpy off of the kitchen stool and running to give him a hug. Her head barely reached past his knee. How could so much energy and power be contained in such a small package?

"Hello little one." Dominic smiled down at her before looking up at her uncle. He could only vaguely remember Briar as the one who had helped Darcy carry him down to the cellar. Now Dominic took his time to look over the boy.

Briar was taller than Darcy, but had the same muscular build. At just under 6 ft his hair was a brownish-blond and very curly. Cut just under the ear it looked as if the boy just left it however it was when he woke up. Almost done with the awkward stage of growth Dominic could see that Briar would turn out to be just as attractive as Darcy.

As his inspection continued Dominic could see more and more of the similarities between his life mate and her brother. The biggest of these was that of the deep green eyes that stared back at Dominic defiantly the entire time.

Dominic felt the challenge in those deep green eyes, the wariness. He felt his wolf growl. _We are the alpha; we need to show him his place._

It was the first time Dominic disagreed with his wolf, the first struggle that he'd had with it. Intellectually he knew that Briar was concerned for his sister and niece. He didn't want any of his pack to have to go through what they'd been going through the last 6 years. Dominic would have to play this right. He didn't want a feud between him and Briar; it would break Darcy's heart.

"I must thank you for saving my life the other night."

Whatever Briar had been expecting this clearly wasn't it. But slowly he nodded, before turning his attention back to making a sandwich for Laki.

"Do you require any assistance?" Dominic asked Briar, he didn't want to mentally push Briar's response, but if it meant getting to know the boy better he would.

"If you want you could grab the lemonade out of the fridge." Briar responded warily. It wasn't much, but Dominic decided that it was a good start.


	14. Chapter 14

Wow, I am sorry that took so long. For some reason this was a really hard chapter to write. I just couldn't seem to find the words that I wanted for description etc. I'm still not so sure on parts so I'm sorry if it's awkward sounding/doesn't make sense. Please let me know and I'll fix it. Hopefully it was worth the wait and I promise the next chapter will be sooner. Thank you for all the encouraging reviews!! and please keep them coming!! Any critiques would be appreciated.

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Dominic stared in horror at the small fire he'd somehow managed to start a top the stove. He felt himself suddenly shoved to the side as Briar rushed to put the fire out with a fire extinguisher.

_What am I doing? _Dominic mentally slapped himself in the face; he was a Carpathian wasn't he? Lifting a hand he snapped once, the fire immediately went out.

From here he couldn't see Briar's face as the boy sagged over the now sooty stove. _Now I've done it. _ The entire stove top was one charred mess, not to mention the kitchen was filled with smoke and the strange food that they'd been making was now ruined.

Dominic slowly swept the kitchen with his eyes. Still sitting at the table Laki stared wide-eyed at the two of them. She appeared unharmed. Satisfied with that Dominic slowly turned his attention to Briar.

The boy's shoulders were shaking up and down. Was he going into shock? Dominic stared to move towards him, but before he had even taken a step Briar turned around.

_He's laughing. _Dominic didn't understand. How could he be laughing, they'd almost burnt the kitchen down!

Dominic watched as tears started to well up in Briars eyes, who was now bent double, his laughter forcing him to sit on the kitchen floor. Briar's booming laugh was soon joined by the tinkling laughter of Laki.

"You….should…have seen….your face!" Briar managed to gasp out before he was once again consumed by laughter. Dominic felt an answering smile spread over his face at the boy's laughter. He didn't think he'd ever seen anyone so incapacitated by laughter before.

"One…of the…most…powerful….beings…and he can't….even….make….mac and ….cheese!" Briar was off again, practically rolling on the ground.

It was quite a few minutes before Briar had once again retained control. Sitting on the kitchen floor he slowly wiped off the tears still left.

"Oh wait until I tell Darcy. She'll get a big kick out of this."

Dominic felt his grin slowly fall. "You will do nothing of the sort. I'm certain that had I had more time to prepare myself I would have done an excellent job at cooking this…mac and cheese. You practically shoved it at me in order to get the phone."

Dominic's indignant speech only caused Laki and Briar to start laughing again.

"You're going to be in trouble when mommy gets home." Laki grinned mischievously as she agreed with Briar.

Dominic felt a smile once again spread across his face as he watched the two of them laughing together.

"Nonsense! She won't even know that anything happened…that is if neither of you tell her." With a wave of his hand Dominic restored the kitchen to its former state. He watched as both Laki and Briar took in what he'd done both struck dumb by his casual display of power.

"Well…that's a handy trick." Briar commented wryly as he pulled himself up off the floor. "But it won't get lunch made; I guess we'll just stick to sandwiches."

* * *

Darcy felt uneasy. The whole day had gone great. The costumers seemed to love the new foods and brighter atmosphere. But sometime around lunch she'd started to feel as though something or someone was watching her. Careful to shield her fears from Dominic she scanned time after time but found nothing.

Mentally she prepared herself, but hour after hour nothing came. And yet she still couldn't shake the feeling that something _was_ coming.

Finally at twilight, it hit. The hairs on the back of her neck stood straight upright at the amount of power that was released. And it was rolling straight for the shop.

In a flash she rushed to the front of the store, "Everyone get down!" She watched in horror as the confused stares of the few customers and servers remaining soon turned to fear as the first tremor shook the little store.

Tables were overturned, the glass display case shattered, cookies and pastries exploded skywards as shock after shock blasted through. Darcy felt her feet fly upwards as she was blown into the wall. It felt like an earthquake and multiple bombs all rolled into one. Glass cut into her skin as she dragged herself to the relative safety under one of the few upright tables remaining. The air was saturated with power, sending her wolf into a confused frenzy.

_Darcy! _She felt the fear in Dominic's voice and that more then anything scared her to the core. _I am coming for you. Do not move._ His voice was a whiplash; she could feel the command in it, the alpha. She felt her body relax at his easily given commands, he was coming for her.

* * *

Dominic had been learning how to play one of Laki and Briar's video games when the first wave of unease hit him. The day had been well spent, he'd gotten to know not only Laki better, but he could feel Briar opening up to him as well.

"I still do not get how one is expected to click so many buttons at the same time." Dominic complained, he was losing… badly to Laki and Briar. He knew that other Carpathians, such as the life mate to Aidan Savage, designed such games specifically for Carpathians but this was obviously not one of them. He swore softly in Carpathian as his character once again found itself back on the first level.

It was then that he felt the hair on the back of his neck stick straight up. The once happy atmosphere of the TV room dissipated as all three of them felt the unleashing of a great magical energy.

The little house gave a shake as the magical tremor rolled underneath them. Dominic immediately sought out Darcy's mind. He could feel her fear and he felt his wolf reacting to it. _Darcy! _ Even as fear for her safety choked him he felt his wolf rising up trying to take over. _I am coming for you. Do not move. _He sent the command swiftly through their mind link.

How could he have been so dumb to simple let her wander around unprotected? He should have tied her to his side when he had the chance. He should have forced her to his will.

He felt it as the beast he had thought to have been evicted rose up swiftly, taking advantage of his already anger filled mind. It gnashed its teeth as it rose up, as it tried to swiftly gain control. We will control her, own her, make her ours. Its voice was grating to the mind, and yet seductive. To have Darcy forever, to make her completely his.

_You will not harm our mate. _Dominic felt himself being squeezed to one side as the wolf rose up to challenge the beast.

He was being torn apart as man, wolf, and beast warred with each other.

He needed to help Darcy.

No he needed to punish her for even daring to leave his side. 

_Protect her._

Dominic felt himself fall to the floor; his hands covered his head as the battle raged on. One of them had to win but without the other two the victor could never hope to be complete. He was being consumed from the inside out.

* * *

Laki knew that her mommy was in trouble. She had felt the shifting of the power lines straight to her core. Felt it in the place where both her Mage and Carpathian magic lay, where her wolf slept. She felt it as all three of her powers awakened.

At first her bright green eyes widened in fear as she watched Nic's face start to contort and shift. What was wrong with him? Why didn't he go save Mommy? Fur seemed to be alternating between sprouting and falling out as snarls of every kind emitted from his mouth.

_He cannot handle it little one. _Laki immediately felt calmer as her wolf joined her.

**Why?** She questioned. Why couldn't he do as she did?

_He was not born already in harmony with the powers that now inhabit his body like you were dear. He will not survive this. Both his wolf and his Carpathian self are of equal power, they will destroy each other…and him._

**No! Wolfy we can't let them. Mommy loves him. She would be so sad!**

Tears filled Laki's eyes at this idea. She loved Nic. He made her mommy smile, and laugh. He was funny, he burned stuff accidentally. She looked on as Briar rushed to Dominic's side.

"Dominic! What's wrong? What's happening?" Briar demanded, worry and fear causing his voice to quaver.

Laki tuned out the rest of Briar's questions as she thought about what her wolf had said.

**Wolfy. We will save him. We will show him the harmony. **Her mind was filled with resolve, like her mother once her mind was set to a task it was impossible to change it.

_If you feel that that is the best choice little one. Then let us show him._


	15. Chapter 15

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He everyone! Thanks for all the reviews! They really help to boost the morale haha. I really like this next chapter and I hope that you guys enjoy it as well. We're really getting down to the end of the story but I'm already thinking of my next one. Anyway please keep up the awesome reviews!! and just a note, we will be learning more about why Dominic is having so much trouble with his wolf and why Manolito didn't in the next chapter. Alright onto the story!

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He was being ripped apart. He felt it as the Carpathian and the wolf warred with each other for supremacy. The pain was one of the worst that he'd ever felt in his entire existence. Despite the agony he tried in vain to shield Darcy from the battle currently taking place within him. Yet although he managed to shoulder most of it, he heard her mental scream as his internal battle spilled into her own mind. As his pain became hers, as everything that was you must become that of your life mates.

He couldn't see, couldn't remember where he was, all he knew was that if one force or the other didn't win soon, then they'd all lose.

_**It's not about winning Nic. **_Amongst the chaos going on inside of him Laki's voice was soft reprieve, one that allowed him to gather his senses and listen to her words even as the wolf and Carpathian beast cried out in protest.

It's always about winning. It's always going to be about winning, about taken control, total domination of what is rightfully ours.

_We must expel this beast; we must protect both ourselves and our life mate. _

Dominic felt the pressure building within his head as their fighting started up again. But once again Laki's voice cut through the chaos.

_**It's not about winning, because no one wins when you are fighting against yourself. **_

Dominic felt her little voice like a cooling rain in the desert. This was not the Laki that he'd been playing video games with only moments before. This girl that spoke to him radiated the power of three of the great races. Mage, lycan and Carpathian blood ran through her veins, causing her voice to fairly crackle with power. Desperately, he grasped onto the lifeline that her words created. She was living proof that the two races of the Lycan and the Karpatii could co-exist without this continual internal struggle.

_**Do not fight with yourself. Both of our kinds have qualities to be equally proud and disdainful of. It is only in accepting both your faults and your strengths that you can truly live in harmony with both sides. When you have two races of equal power running through your body it is no longer a question of one converting one to the other. It is a question of reining in both sides and accepting both as equals.**_

Her words reverberated through his mind, as he felt her withdraw, leaving him alone in the chaos and discord once again. This was it. Either he stood now and took charge, or he was overtaken, resulting in either a crazed vampire or a deranged were-wolf.

**You will both stop**. His command rang with the experience gathered over hundreds of years. He felt it as both wolf and Carpathian stopped their fighting as his iron will pressed down upon them.

**You will both listen to me. I am in control, not you.**

* * *

Darcy felt as if her mind was being ripped to shreds. Her wolf howled in agony as both their mates pain flowed into their mind. **He can't contain both of them. **Darcy felt panic as this thought whisked through her calamitous mind.

All around her the floor of the shop rolled and trembled, screams rang out in jarring harmony with the glasses and plates breaking. But she could do nothing to stop either; she was paralyzed by pain and confusion as the war within Dominic overtook her.

The magic quakes seemed to go on and on with no reprieve in sight. She would just have to endure, as she always had, until they stopped. Then she would have to use all of her remaining strength to get to Dominic, to try and help him through his torment.

But even as she thought this a new wave of pain overtook her already battered body, tumbling her into unconciousness.

* * *

Had he had more time Razvan liked to think that he would have come up with a more…elegant way to capture the were-wolf. But with the Carpathian race gaining more power by the day he knew that it was only a matter of time before he would have no chance whatsoever of taking the throne.

More and more ancients were finding their life mates. More and more of the old races were coming forward again, forming knew alliances. If Razvan did not get a hold of the little girl now and drain her fast, he would have no chance.

But no matter. He'd had no other option, and in the end who cared about the means? His highly polished shoes made no noise as he slowly entered the chaos filled shop. Not that it mattered, with the magic-quakes still rolling through, and the sounds of screams and breaking objects still filling the air. No one would notice if one little baker went missing, no one but her family.

As he entered the little bakery his stormy green eyes easily picked out Darcy from among the debris. Careful not to scuff his shoes he slowly picked his way through the glass, wood splinters, and unconscious humans. Despite the still rolling floor beneath his feet he moved gracefully and without a single falter.

In a movement too fast for human eyes he quickly closed the gap that remained between himself and Darcy. His eyes took in her coma-like state with glee. He'd expected it to be at least a little harder then this, but he gave no more thought to the why's and how's of her being in so vulnerable a position. Why question such a favorable event? Grabbing her wrist with one gnarled and ugly hand he pulled her body out from under the pile of wood scraps that had once been a table. He easily swung her prone body over his back and without another glance backward took off straight through the ceiling into the night.

* * *

"I don't think whatever you did worked Laki." Briar held the little girl easily in his arms. Both of them watched as Dominic remained in the same crouched position that he'd been in for the past hour. "We really need to get Darcy." Briar said, and yet neither he nor Laki moved from their position. He was getting really worried, what had triggered that surge of magic? What was going on with Dominic? Briar was starting too really like the guy. He was willing to laugh at himself, and it was clear whenever Darcy was mentioned that he really cared for her, despite the fact that they'd only known him for about three days. Yet Briar couldn't help but remember the tales told about Carpathian life mates. Maybe Darcy really was Dominic's life mate.

But before Briar could complete this train of thought, or even decide whether or not to go call Darcy who should be off in another hour anyway, Dominic stirred.

Briar felt the hair on the back of his neck stand straight up at the amount of power that flared out of Dominic. He felt his wolf howl as it sensed something far more powerful then it could ever imagine rise up.

Briar didn't think he'd ever been truly afraid of Dominic until this moment. He'd been wary and unsure of him, but never truly afraid, not with the way Darcy trusted him. But in that moment as Dominic stood with his short black hair messy and tangled, and his emerald green eyes stormy and wild, Briar could imagine what it would be like to be on the receiving end of a pissed off Carpathian male. It was a feeling that he never hoped to experience again.

* * *

Dominic could feel it as his power crackled in the air around him. He hadn't felt this powerful in, well, ever. Is this what Laki felt like everyday? Like she was being electrocuted and energized at the same time? The little girl didn't even have two bloodlines in her, but three; she would truly be a force to reckoned with when she was older.

But that wasn't what concerned him right now.

"Dominic, are you okay? What happened?" Dominic held up one hand to halt the torrent of questions he could see trying to burst from Briar's lips.

"I will tell you later. But right now we must find your sister." His voice was cool and calm, the exact opposite of how he felt on the inside.

"She should be getting home pretty quickly." But even as Briar said this his voice sounded uncertain.

"No, she isn't. He has her. Razvan has your sister."


	16. Chapter 16

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Hey everyone! Notice that I managed to post on schedule this week! A fact I'm very proud of. Anyway you know what would be an awesome way to ensure that I keep my updates as regular? REVIEW!! I love getting them! It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! Even a one word review would do...haha. Okay enough pestering you. Hope you enjoy it!

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Darcy didn't know where she was. A fact that chilled her straight down to her bones. What had happened? But even as she strained to remember her head erupted with a pain so intense she let out a groan.

"Ahh, so I see you are finally awake."

The voice that spoke made her skin crawl, and she instinctively knew that where ever she was she needed to get out of there as soon as possible.

_In order to do that we must open our eyes. _ Darcy's wolf sounded weak but the relief she had felt at even hearing the whisper of its voice was unimaginable. Why had she been so afraid that she'd never hear it again?

A flash of a memory struck her like a physical blow. There had been a great battle, but not one of flesh and blood, no one of mind. But between herself and who? Who had she been fighting?

_We will figure it out, but first we need to scan our surroundings. _Darcy agreed with this and so she slowly opened her heavy eyes.

From what she could see she was in a cave of some sort, with no exit or entrance in sight, a fact that made her panicky. As a lycan she was highly claustrophobic.

She couldn't allow her fear to overcome her, to choke her and hinder her chances of escape. So she pushed it down and continued her scanning. As far as she could tell there was only one source of light in the cavern, emitting from a small lantern to her left.

Now where had that voice come from? And then she saw him.

The creature that slowly crept towards her from the shadows wasn't hideous in the normal sense. It wasn't that he wasn't attractive, but rather the fact that despite that attractiveness you could easily see the monster underneath. With each flicker of the lantern it seemed that he changed. One second he was the a Greek god, the next a haggard revolting mess.

"Darcy. You didn't really think that I'd leave did you? Not without the little brat. Or the information I want." His voice was like fingers on a chalk board and still slightly raspy after having his head almost decapitated by her in their last battle. A fact that made her feel a little less helpless.

But despite the pride she felt at having caused him so much damage, she felt fear rise in her heart at the thought of this monster getting his claws on Laki. Who would protect her if Darcy didn't get out of this? Briar wasn't ready to fight such a beast.

_Dominic will protect both of them. As he vowed to._

That was right. Dominic would never let this beast get his claws on either of them. The relief at this thought was overwhelming and only matched by her regret at the idea that she might not see him again. That she might not be able to have any sort of relationship with him.

"You'll never get her; she's got protectors even more powerful then me now."

Darcy felt a grim pleasure at the way Razvan's face twisted in anger at her comment. If she was going to die she might as well make his life as much of a living hell as she could, even if it was only with little barbs.

_Do not think like that. If you are defeated in your mind then there is no hope whatsoever. We will defeat him, as we have before._

But even as her wolf declared this the room seemed to spin around.

Razvan let out a laugh, as if taking pleasure in her obvious disorientation.

"Don't even think about fighting me, not only are you suffering from multiple broken bones, but I'm afraid I couldn't take the chance of you changing and healing up. So I dosed you with some wolfs bane."

Darcy felt a fury rise up in her system. He wouldn't find her so easy a victim again. Gathering all of her strength she pushed down the disorientation and nausea and as he stood laughing, she attacked.

The wolfs bane actually worked to her advantage in this as it dulled all the pain that would have otherwise made her movements jerky and slow. Blood gushed out as Darcy once again tore at Razvan's still scarred throat. With a scream he ripped her off of his neck and through her against the cave wall. And once again Darcy was sent spiraling into black.

* * *

By some miracle Dominic had managed to convince Briar to stay at the farmhouse, in order to "protect" Laki. Little did he know that Dominic had covered the already protection sealed house with a multitude of his own unique protections. There was no way that those two were getting in or out without Dominic.

In vain Dominic had tried to reach out for Darcy again and again but he hadn't been able to latch on to her signal. He feared the worst but wasn't so sure, wouldn't he have felt as if his soul was being ripped in half? Wouldn't he have known if she had passed on? There were many ways to incapacitate a humans mind, herbs were especially potent. A weapon that he'd heard tale of vampire hunters using on more then one Carpathian, such as Mikhail's brother Jacques.

_But what would be strong enough to do that to a lycan?_

Even before this thought had been formed he felt the answer deep within his bones.

_Wolfs bane._

Unwanted images filled his head, Darcy struggling but powerless, Razvan taking advantage of her in her weakened state.

NO! The familiar voices of wolf and Carpathian cried out in unison against the vile idea. He had promised to protect her and he would, but time was running out.

Landing gracefully in the back alley of the coffee shop he slowly circled around to the front.

If this had once been a cute little shop it was no longer. The front windows were smashed out, police and ambulance lights illuminated the dismal scene. On the sidewalk survivors sat huddled in blankets as all around them firefighters and rescue workers set about pulling people out of the rubble that remained of coffee shop and the neighboring buildings.

His eyes narrowing a fraction Dominic scanned the surrounding area; the powerful magic wave had ravished both sides of the street, and was probably even now rippling down the coast. A wave as powerful as that would take lots of time to displace itself and probably wouldn't stop until it met a powerful body of water.

Cloaking his presence Dominic slowly inhaled, the magic would have destroyed all traces of both her and Razvans magical path, but as his wolf was quick to point out they always had scent.

There. Amongst the smells of grit, fear, and unwashed bodies he could just catch her scent. It was one of cool nights underneath a full moon. Of running unbound through the forest. The smell that he'd started to unconsciously associate with home.

Without a moment to lose Dominic blasted up into the night. His nose to the winds he scented again, until he found it once again. He was lucky that it was not a windy day or he would certainly be at a loss. It was already difficult already tracking her through the night air.

With every sniff her scent became stronger, he was getting closer. She was alive and when he found her he would make sure that they would never be separated again. He would bind her to him; take all of her into his keeping.

Dominic came to an abrupt halt as the scent ended suddenly. Despair filled his soul.

_**He landed. Fly down to the forest floor. We will find her together.**_ The voices of both wolf and Carpathian filled his head, filling him once again with hope. In a blur of movement he shot downwards to the forest floor, relief filling him as he caught her scent. Together they would find her, their mate.

It wasn't long before the scent ended again, but this time at a cliff wall. She was underground. But that didn't matter. He was too close to turn back now. He would find his mate, no matter what.

* * *

A warm liquid filled her mouth, the smell of it was overpowering, causing her to gag and cough. But no matter how she struggled she couldn't seem to get away from it.

And then it hit her. _He's turning me, Razvan is killing my wolf and turning me._


	17. Chapter 17

Hey guys! Sorry this chapter's a little shorter then usual. It just seemed like a good place to stop...cliffhanger anyone? haha sorry. I intend to answer the question as to why Manolito's experience was so much different finding a lycan mate then Dominic's in the next chapter. Hope you all enjoy...oh yah REVIEW!! Lazy people...:) But seriously review...or else. Also the line border thing isn't working so I can't warn you when I'm changing perceptions, hopefully you'll catch on though.

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Blood poured down her throat. In vain she struggled against the combined onslaught of Razvan's mind, blood , and physical strength. Despite his reopened neck wound he was still much stronger then she was, he'd had the advantage of not being bombarded by magic waves for an hour, nor had he had most of his magic smothered by wolfs bane.

_We must hold on..._ Her wolf's voice was a mere thread of sound in her mind. A different beast was now taking over her body. What was it that Dominic had told her, she was fading in and out , her mind grasping at straws as she tried to desperately to remember what he'd said about the conversion.

Something about the number of blood exchanges...three. That was it. Too have the beast she recognized as Carpathian in nature to be taking over her mind meant that Razvan must have exchanged blood with her more then once.

_Don't leave me, I need you._ Even as Darcy felt the black sucking her under again, she cried out in vain to her wolf.

_They are here...our mates have come._ And with that final message from her wolf Darcy was swept under by the black once more.

With one angry glare the stone before him blasted apart. The power of both his Carpathian heritage and his newfound wolf flowed through his body, both of them eager to find there mates, to destroy the threat to Laki, to Darcy and Briar...to his family.

With that thought to strengthen his already unshakable resolve. Causing the rest of the cliff face to dissolve and revealing the hidden tunnel that led to Razvan's lair.

His mind probed outward, seeking out all of the hidden traps Razvan had to have put in place.

He needed to rein in his unstable emotions. Needed to seek out the calm that had served him so well in past hunts. And yet even as he thought this a mental cry rang out. Darcy. He didn't think that she'd even done it consciously but that didn't matter, her pain was his and he had no time to waste.

Anger coursed through his body and both his beasts...no that was the wrong way to put it...they were no longer two but one completed being within him, and both roared out in anticipation of the fight. In anticipation of killing the being who had dared to steal his mate.

With one thought any and all of Razvans hastily put up shields were ripped asunder. It was clear to Dominic that Razvan had become lazy with his protections, believing himself to be to powerful to be attacked off guard. But then, Razvan couldn't even begin to imagine how powerful Dominic now was.

In a blink of an eye Dominic was inside the chamber that the dark tunnel led to. What he beheld there only increased his anger, Razvan would die this day.

Darcy heard the bellow of rage rip through her. But despite the fierocity of it it didn't inspire fear. In fact the exact opposite was true. Her life-mate had finally come. She was glad that she would get to see him one more time. For she could dying. She knew it in the very depths of her soul that she would not come out of this fight alive, or at least not how she'd entered it. Although she could hear them talking she couldn't process exactly what was being said. Her mind was too befuddled and confused to keep up.

Yet in a small still functioning corner of her mind she wondered when Razvan had stopped feeding from her. She worried that Dominic was too angry to win this fight. From the sound of his intial roar it was probably so.

Weakly she reached out for him, only to realize that she couldn't. Her mind path to him was blocked. In a haze she wondered why...wolfs bane. She had to let him know not to fight angry not to fight alone. She needed to protect her, she was the alpha and she would not let him do this without her.

Her resolve set deep within her she forced herself to roll over to all fours. Slowly, painfully, she tried to stand up. But try as she might the room spun to much, not to mention her stomach felt weird. Almost as though it was on fire. The first spasm ripped through her already worn out body and with a cry she fell back down to the ground. This must be it...this was the conversion.

With a thought Dominic had Razvan pinned to the wall of the cave. Who knew how many times he'd fed off of Darcy. How many times he'd exchanged blood with her. Dominic only prayed that it wasn't enough to convert her. Not when he'd discovered how to balance the two beings within him, not when she so desperately needed to be with her family.

Despite the naked fear that showed in Razvan's ever-changing eyes, he laughed as Dominic crashed him into the wall.

"She is mine now uncle." Razvan's voice was like finger-nails on a chalkboard. But Dominic forced himself not to fall prey to Razvan's manipulative ways. Dominic knew for a fact that it mattered not who converted you, you could never refute your life mate.

Dominic tightened his fingers around Razvan's neck digging his nails in to the still gapping wound Dominic assumed was from Darcy.

"You have broken the laws of our Prince. You have murdered and raped and spread misery wherever you have traveled. There is no escaping the justice of our Prince, no escaping from me."

Razvan merely smiled at Dominic, although the fear was still clearly shown in his eyes.

"That is all well and good uncle, but are you sure you would rather spend the last moments of your life mates life killing me? They might be better spent saving her."

Dominic felt horror and panic rise up in his chest. He was starting to understand the reason why Razvan hadn't fought at all, he'd been counting on having Darcy there as a distraction. It was working.

But Razvan underestimated his uncle, something he would pay for dearly. In a flash of movement too quick to be seen Dominic easily broke Razvan's neck before plunging his arm into his nephew's chest.

The look on Razvan's face was almost comical, surprised mixed with horror at the idea that he had finally been killed. That someone had finally bested him. But that look didn't last long. As Dominic wrapped his hand around the putrid heart within Razvan his nephew laughed.

"Oh uncle, you really didn't think that it'd be that easy did you?" Dominic felt the ground and ceiling, everything around him start to tremble as some unknown trigger set by Razvan was activated. But Dominic didn't even hesitate, and with a mighty heave he pulled Razvan's heart from his body.

At that instant he felt more then heard the shriek of pain as Darcy's body started to seizure, the conversion was upon his mate for sure. Dominic didn't even look to see Razvan's now lifeless body fall. In a heartbeat he had Darcy's now wildly convulsing body up in his arms.

He didn't have time to get them out of the now crumbling cave and destroy Razvan's body. Yet he knew that if he didn't take the time to burned the remains that Razvan would recover. Even now Razvan was crawling toward the blackened heart not far to his left.

"Seal him in, bind him forever." Darcy's voice was husky and raw as she struggled with her pain. It made him both angry and ridiculously happy to have her talking.

"An excellent idea love." Calling on everything, and every power that now resided within his body and mind Dominic bond Razvan to this place. Razvan never was good at spells...something he had learned from Natalya in his recent meeting with her. Dominic used enough spells to ensure that event the most talented mage or Carpathian would spend years trying to unravel the many intricate layers of them. That done he once again turned his whole attention to his life mate. She wouldn't die, nor would she lose her wolf, not if he had anything to say about it.

* * *

Despite the darkness that filled the little hole still left of Razvan's lair, Razvan unerringly found his still beating heart. They thought they could keep him hear? He who held the blood of mage and Dragonseeker in his veins. Granted it would take him awhile to recover but when he did all the Carpathian people would pay. They may have already ruined his plans, it was clear that Dominic had beat him to the punch by merging himself with that bitch were-wolf. But he had other ways of overthrowing the Prince, of taken what should be his.

Yes, that was what he would do. The battle may have been lost, but know that he thought about it there were more potent and powerful things out there then a were-wolfs blood. Races and species that the Carpathians couldn't even imagine too smug in their own power and self-importance.

But enough, he would have to heal himself. To do that would take ages, not to mention the numerous spells and safe-guards tying tightly in this grave of rock and rubble. But he would bide his time. He could be patient. He could wait.


	18. Chapter 18

Super disappointed by the lack of reviews...so you can't blame me for the day delay...it's your own fault. I deman more reviews on the next chapter...and yes there will be at least one or two more chapters just as an epilogue, hope you've all enjoyed the story so far. I have. anyway more reviews or else!! Also I am once again unable to put in lines to show the changes in perspective. Sorry.

Convulsions racked Darcy's body. The conversion was showing it's full force as her body shook and seizure d with the changes her body was going through.

With all the speed that his now hybrid blood bestowed him, Dominic flew through the forest. He couldn't take her back to the house. He couldn't let either Briar or Laki see her like this. In his arms Darcy's body twisted and turned, he could see how much the wolf was fighting the new blood currently invading her veins. Her body was resisting it violently, her wolf and the new Carpathian blood at war with each other.

He needed to find somewhere safe with which to guide her through this. Without his help she would either succumb to the Carpathian blood, or die. The first choice would succeed in ruining any chance of living her life normally. A life that she'd scraped out of existence despite so many obstacles thrown in her path. The second choice was something that Dominic simply would not allow.

"Hold on Darcy, hold on. You must try not to fight it, do not let them fight each other." Dominic whispered harshly, he could sense a small abandoned barn only a half a mile away from them. Putting on a burst of speed he was there in the blink of an eye. His grip was strong but gentle as he carried the unconscious and convulsing Darcy inside the barn. With a thought he manifested a huge king-sized bed and carefully set Darcy down upon it. The conversion was progressing rapidly, he didn't' have much time if he wanted to show her how to join together the two bloods now fighting within her.

He had given Manolito's story lots of thought. How was it that neither Maryann nor Manolito enjoyed the abilities to walk in sunlight and consume food, while still possessing all the powers of a Carpathian, like Laki did? Why was Laki able to do all of those things when her blood was essentially the same as the Carpathian couple?

And then it had occurred to him. Maryann didn't know about her heritage, her bond with her guardian had hardly even existed when she had been converted. So while she and Manolito still had remnants of wolves within their bodies, neither of their guardians had had enough strength to put up a fight against the Carpathian blood, much less hold their own. It took a very strong bond, the type of bond that by drinking her blood, Darcy had given to him, to even contest Carpathian blood. That was why Dominic was able to balance the two species, they were of equal strength, and if he didn't help Darcy achieve this balance soon he feared the worst.

Darcy was in the worst pain of her life, or at least top 5. She felt like she was on fire, the wolfs bane was still in her system making her even more disoriented. She didn't know what was going on. Her stomach twisted in knots. "I'm gonna barf." Her voice was barely a whisper, her mouth so dry that she could barely get the words out of her throat.

But somehow someone must have heard her because all of a sudden cool hands were carefully turning her over so that she was belly down on the bed, her head was over the side where a blue bucket loomed below, waiting for her. It didn't have to wait long. Gentle hands pulled her bedraggled blond curls back from her face. "Thank you." She managed to pant out after the wave of nausea was gone. She felt disgusting, it didn't help that her body felt as though it was being ripped apart from the inside.

_ Little wolf you must listen to me_. Dominic's voice was a cool breeze in her mind. _I have figured out the way for us to meet in the middle. It's not about the type of blood at all. It is about balance. If you want to keep your wolf without destroying yourself you must both embrace the Carpathian blood now flowing in your veins, and the guardian that you've known so long. They must be under your control, not the other way around. They must be balanced, or no good will come of it. Be balanced, like Laki is, like I now am. _

Darcy felt his words absorb into her mind. Balance. That was the price that must be paid in order to have all of the power of these two races. Eternal vigilance too ensure that neither side gets too powerful. That neither side is allowed to overtake. To have absolute control. She could do it, she would do it.

Her mind made up Darcy felt for her wolf, her guardian of old, and for her Carpathian blood, her guardian of new, then she relaxed and holding onto both of them she opened her mind for them to come.

The conversion, or almost conversion he supposed, had taken up the rest of the night. Dominic now lay atop the sheets on the bed and watched Darcy sleep. He had no idea what she would wake-up to be. The moment he had conveyed the information to her she had closed off all pathways to her mind. A decision that made him both angry and worried and just a little hurt.

But then again hadn't he tried to do the same thing earlier when he had almost hurt her during his own conversion? He was too tired to think on it now. He would sleep and worry about it tomorrow. Slowly he pulled the sheets up and over himself, he had had to remove Darcy's clothing due after the conversion, but he had decided (against his own desires) to provide her with a big shirt to where. Now she was curled up beside him. It felt so good to simply have another body beside him at night. To know that she would always be beside him. Slowly, so as not to wake her, he slung an arm around her and pulled her closer, so that her back was to his front. He quickly molded himself to her body, before drifting off to another night of this new dream-filled sleep.

Darcy felt weird. Every nerve ending seemed to be heightened, her skin felt overly sensitive.

What had happened? She remembered being in Razvan's cave, Dominic, he'd rescued her. But after that all she could remembered became fogged over in pain.

The conversion. Razvan had converted her. Darcy could feel the panic rising within her. What had happened to her wolf? What was she going to do now? She couldn't just sleep all day, Briar needed her, Laki needed her! She couldn't spend the rest of her life away from the sun!

_Calm down child. I am still here. Our mates figured out the way for us to resist the full conversion._

Darcy thought she would cry at the familiar cadence of her guardian. Then she felt something else, something she'd never had before, stir within her.

_I did not say that this comes without a price. You are now half Carpathian, and you must do as your life mate tells you, balance both bloods. Or none of us will be able to survive. We three are all inter tangled now and we must remember that._

Darcy felt the new entity's agreement deep within her. Darcy slowly retreated from that place deep within her and focused back on the present.

Her eyes fluttered open surprised to see that she was actually in a barn. _Well hey maybe I'll get to enjoy a roll in the hay. _Darcy snorted at her own ideas.

"You are finally awake." Dominic's voice washed over her immediately igniting a fire deep within her.

"How are you feeling?" He continued, he was now looming over her, her intense hazel eyes took her breath away. How could have forgotten how beautiful he was?

She watched as a boyish grin tugged at his lips, "Well I guess that settles the question of whether or not I attract you." He said with a laugh, causing Darcy to blush as she realized that he must of heard her over their common mental link.

"Where are we?" Darcy's voice was a little rusty. She tried to sit up to see only to have Dominic's hand firmly push her back down.

"Oh no you don't. Your body still needs time to adjust. Especially since neither of us know exactly what our new needs may be. That and I've finally got you alone in a bed with no Laki or Briar around and I intend to finish what I tried to start what seems like forever ago."

Darcy felt the color rising in her cheeks at the raw desire in his voice before the rest of what he said soaked in.How could she have forgotten about Laki and Briar for even so brief and instant?! Where were they? Were they okay?

She heard Dominic sigh, his hand remaining firmly on her chest to prevent her from her headlong dash to check on her family.

"I've already seen to them. While you were sleeping I went back the farm to check up on them. Do not worry though I left you so heavily safeguarded that it would have taken the Prince and any number of his mages many years to get to you."

"That wasn't what I was concerned about. But thanks." Darcy replied dryly.

"Where are they?" She continued, although she already felt a little more comfortable knowing that Dominic had taken care of them.

"Briar has a few days off from school since all of main street was virtually destroyed, the magic waves did some of the schools water pipes some damage so they have the whole rest of the week off. He said that he will watch Laki. And in anticipation of your next question everyone at your diner is fine and they all believe you to be staying at your friends house to recuperate. Now does that satisfy all of your questions?" He ended the succinct report calmly with a slight mischievous grin.

Darcy scrunched up her face really hard as if deep in thought before finally answering. "I suppose so...for now."

"Good because I fully intend to spend the next 24 hours making you mine, and nothing and no one is going to get in my way. But first:

I claim you as my life mate.

I belong to you.

I offer my life for you.

I give you my protection.

I give you my allegiance.

I give you my heart.

I give you my soul.

I give you my body.

I take into my keeping the same that is yours

Your life will be cherished by me for all time.

Your life will be placed above my own for all time.

You are my life mate.

You are bound to me for eternity.

You are always in my care."

With that Dominic lowered his lips to hers and kissed her, he did indeed keep his promise, although it was closer to 48 hrs.


	19. Epilogue

Well guys I'm afraid that this is the end. Sorry it took a little a longer to post, I'm getting ready to go to school and that involves a lot of packing...anyway even though this is the end of this story I have another in the works with Zacarias as the main male lead. I realize that there are others using him as well but, whatever. Please REVIEW!! Let me know if I did well, and thank you all for reading and for your help/ patience. Thus ends my first fanfic hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Peace...and REVIEW!!

**One Month Later:**

"Laki don't forget your lunch!" Dominic called up the hall as the little girl ran around the house trying to gather all of her things for school.

In the past month there had been a lot of trial and error as both Dominic and Darcy learned the limitations of their new hybrid status. While they were able to use many of the powers of both species they had to keep a rigid control over each beast. To give one or the other more power set off conversion like symptoms.

It was Gregori's thought that both of them walked a thin line in between the two species. One mis-step would spiral them into converting completely into either Carpathian or Lyman.

"I won't!" Saki called as she raced into the kitchen, her Transformers backpack securely on her back.

The energetic little girl jumped up eagerly for her lunch. "Thank you Nic!! I'll see you after school!" The little girl exclaimed as she grabbed her lunch and ran to front door where Darcy waited with the her coat.

"Do you have your reading book?" Darcy asked as she helped the little girl into her pink fall jacket.

"Yes! And I have my crayons and pencils and paper and my sunscreen! But I don't really need any of it 'cause we're having a party 'cause it's Denny's birthday today!!" Saki was so wound up that Darcy couldn't help but feel relief when she finally saw her daughter onto the Kindergarten bus.

Bria had left for school a good hour before, leaving the house finally empty.

"Whew! Well that's the last of them." Darcy said with a smile, as she turned to Dominic.

"Finally." He growled as he slowly stalked her down the hall. With a smirk he snaked out his arm and pulled her close, fitting his body snugly against hers.

"Oh no you don't, we have to go to work." Darcy protested even while she snuggled up closer.

With another low growl Dominic took her lips with his, kissing her aggressively even as he gently stroked her back up and down. Darcy couldn't help the little mewing sounds she unconsciously let out. God, she felt like she was burning up. Her hips moved restlessly against Dominic's. With a growl of her own she slowly pulled away.

Dominic sighed. Darcy was right. They had a bakery to open, the only reason they were still at home now was because they had stayed up all night last night finishing up the final touches on the Bread Box. Today was the official re-opening. After the "earthquakes" as the scientist were calling it, Mel had decided to call it quits. She'd offered to sell to Darcy and with Dominic to back the venture they'd taken her up on her offer. What would have taken months and thousands of dollars to restore had ended up only taken a month and almost no cost to rebuild. Having super strength and the knowledge of thousands of years on your side could do that for you.

With a saucy grin Darcy patted Dominic's cheek playfully, "Poor man, you are just so deprived, of sexual favors." Laughing at his petulant face Darcy skipped playfully down the hall to grab her own jacket, Dominic following close behind, locking the door behind them.

"Well, milady, shall we go?" Dominic asked, holding out his arm as if escorting her to a ball. With a laugh, Darcy gave her his arm and in the blink of an eye they were airborne.

Darcy didn't think she'd ever get used to flying, while she no longer suffered from her fear of heights she still found it a little...unnerving to be up so high. But on such a joyous night Darcy couldn't help but let herself relax a little.

The air blew through her hair, the ground flew beneath her feet, and Dominic soared at her side. She couldn't remember a happier time. She owned her own bakery with Dominic, Laki and Briar could finally have a normal life and she had finally found someone who loved her family just as much as she did.

_They are not a hard family to fall in love with._ Dominic's thought floated through Darcy's head.

_And you are not a hard man to fall in love with. _Darcy thought back to him.

Dominic did wonderfully with Laki, he was tender and caring but wasn't afraid to lay down the law. As with Briar, what had started out as a relationship fraught with tension was slowly making it's way to one of mutual trust and respect.

Darcy's musings were cut short as below her the Bread Box came into view. It looked beautiful in the early sunlight. But what was even more beautiful was that Dominic could share the sight with her. Both of them were able to walk around in the sun, as long as they applied sunscreen for both of them burned unbelievably fast. Darcy couldn't complain about that though, just the fact that they could go out in sunlight was a miracle.

Hand in hand Dominic and Darcy landed invisibly behind The Bread Box.

"It's 7:30 now, so we have about an hour before the grand opening." Darcy's voice was filled with nervousness, at the thought. She had made all of the dough yesterday and had had a few of her workers start putting them in the ovens early this morning.

"We'll be fine little wolf, everyone loves your baking. It is a good thing that I have a very high metabolism or else I'd soon have to buy bigger pairs of pants." Dominic said with an encouraging smile. He was finding that despite the sensitivity of his stomach he enjoyed eating very much, so many tastes. Though he would never be able to stomach meats of any kind, he couldn't complain. He and Darcy were able to exist on fruits, vegetables, grains and a little bit of blood thrown in on the side. They were still trying to figure out what diet was the best for them.

"Well, I am pretty amazing." Darcy responded with a laugh.

"And with me in charge of the finances how can we go wrong?" Dominic continued with a cocky grin. Darcy merely rolled her eyes before entering the bakery. Here went nothing.

**Later that night...**

It was with a huge yawn that Darcy landed in the front yard later that night. Dominic had said that he would close up, he was still more of a night owl then she, despite the fact that he was no longer nocturnal. She couldn't believe that it was only 9:00! She felt wiped. But even her fatigue couldn't dampen her joy. They had been a complete success! Even Mel had stopped by and complimented on the new bakery.

It had seemed like the whole town had been there, which she knew had a lot to do with the fact that they had been the first to re-open after the quakes. It was a sign of change and recovery, something that she felt fit this time of her life to a T.

With a smile at those thoughts she set about finding the rest of her family. A quick scan with her mind showed Laki and Briar to be making popcorn in anticipation of their traditional Friday night movies. _I will be home momentarily, little wolf. Go and start the movie._

Darcy felt warmth spread throughout her body at the sound of Dominic's voice inside of her head. Home. They had all finally found a home, they were a family and no matter what the future brought they would stand strong against it. Nothing could break them, not while they were together.

_Let us go inside and join our pack. _With a small smile at her wolf's commanding tone Darcy waited until Dominic landed.

"You didn't have to wait for me." Dominic said as he gathered Darcy into his arms. He was addicted to the feel of her in his arms.

"Yes I did, we can't start until the whole family is here." Darcy answered, a smile overtaking her face. Dominic was surprised at how much joy he had felt at her words. He knew that he was now counted as part of her family, but to hear it meant a lot.

"Dominic, I love you." Darcy continued, encouraged by the look of joy on his face.

"And I love you Darcy. Now let us go in, our family is waiting."

Hand in hand they entered the little farmhouse. And soon the sound of singing could be heard throughout the night.

**Elsewhere that night...**

Razvan would escape. And when he did they would pay...all of them. He would destroy the Carpathians. He may not have succeeded in this venture but he would find another way. So let them think that he was out of the picture, he would leave them be...for now.


End file.
